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Suicide, a major public health problem with devastating effects on family and friends, is more common in men than women. Predicting risk has been difficult, with psychiatric diagnosis and psychological factors of limited utility. In a prospective epidemiological study, researchers have now examined the utility of social risk factors in predicting suicide in 34,901 men (mean age, 57; from narrow professional socioeconomic strata) followed from 1988 to 2012, during which 147 men died by suicide.
A social integration index was computed from seven questions on marital status, size of social network, frequency of social contact, religious participation, and participation in other social groups. Analyses controlled for competing mortality risks fr…