Low intelligence in young males has been linked to a much higher suicide risk, compared to their most intelligent counterparts according to swedish researchers. Researchers have previously found evidence that level of intelligence plays a role in attempted suicide according to the report published online June 3 in the BMJ.
In the new study, Finn Rasmussen, a professor in the department of public health sciences at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues examined records of men born between 1950 and 1976. The men all underwent mental exams and physicals and were followed for 24 years.
Of the men, 17,736, 1.6% were admitted to hospitals because they attempted suicide. After adjusting the data to take into account the men's ages and socioeconomic status, the researchers found that men with the lowest IQs were almost nine times more likely to have tried to commit suicide than those with the highest IQs.
"Given the novelty of these findings, further research is needed to provide a deeper understanding, which will inform public health strategies and may lead to a reduction in future attempted and subsequently completed suicides," the study authors concluded.
