One Day of the Week Has Highest Suicide Risk
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Oct. 24, 2024 -- A “case of the Mondays” is more perilous than just the return-to-work blues, a new study warns.
Suicide risk is highest on Monday in the United States and around the world, an international team of researchers has discovered.
“Mondays and New Year’s Day were both associated with increased suicide risk in most countries,” concluded the team led by Yoonhee Kim, an associate professor with the University of Tokyo's Department of Global Environmental Health.
Mondays constitute 15% to 18% of total suicides, compared with other days, researchers found.
Results also show that weekend suicide risk varies greatly between countries.
Suicide risk is lowest on Saturdays or Sundays in many countries across North America, Asia and Europe. However, suicide risk increases during the weekend in South and Central American Countries, Finland and South Africa.
For the study, researchers analyzed suicide data for 740 locations in 26 countries and territories from 1971 to 2019, including more than 1.7 million suicides.
Previous studies have shown that suicide risk differs by day of the week, but results have been inconsistent, researchers said in background notes.
Suicide risk increased on New Year’s Day in all countries, especially in men, the results showed.
The researchers said there are several potential explanations for the increased suicide risk on Mondays and New Year’s Day.
One is the “broken-promise effect theory,” which holds that people experience a negative mood when things don’t go as planned. In essence, a bad weekend or a trying year causes an intense feeling of depression or despair that increases suicide risk.
The beginning of the week might also increase work pressure and stress, a phenomenon called “Blue Monday,” researchers said.
It also could be that people drink more on the weekends and on New Year’s Day, which is considered a major risk factor for suicide, researchers added.
“Notably, our study showed that men who died by suicide were more affected by the day of the week and New Year’s Day compared with women,” the researchers wrote.
The new study was published Oct. 23 in the BMJ.
Men are more susceptible to isolation and stress, while women typically have a bigger and more diverse social support system, researchers said.
If you or a loved one are experiencing a suicidal crisis or emotional distress call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Sources
- BMJ Group, news release, Oct. 23, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted October 2024
Read this next
Early Smartphone Access Harms Developing Minds, Study Warns
TUESDAY, June 22, 2025 — Care about your kid’s well being? Then best not give them a smartphone until they’re a full-fledged teenager, a major new study...
Few Schools Screen Students For Depression, Anxiety
TUESDAY, July 22, 2025 — Fewer than one-third of American public schools are screening students for psychological problems, years after the U.S. Surgeon General declared a...
Four-Day Work Week Benefits Workers, Employers, Study Says
TUESDAY, July 22, 2205 — A four-day work week can lead to happier and more productive, dedicated employees, a new global study found. Workers at companies that instituted a...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.