India, Sept. 16 -- Exposure to air pollutants, especially small particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), may heighten the risk of death by suicide and suicidal thoughts, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

The findings underscore the need to consider environmental exposures as potentially modifiable risk factors in suicide prevention strategies, emphasise the researchers.

Globally, more than 720,000 people die by suicide every year, prompting the World Health Organization to develop a Mental Health Action Plan to reduce this global toll by at least a third between 2013 and 2030, they explain.

The interplay of individual, bi...