Twins have lower suicide risk

August 15, 2003

I was watching this prog on obesity on TV and there were identical twins on

it. One was 50lbs heavier, and he ate junk food and only did weights. The

other went jogging all the time and ate lots of salad and fresh fruit.

Amazing to see their faces. Nicky

Twins have lower suicide risk

Mirror image: Being a twin has its advantages

Someone who has a twin may be less likely to kill themselves, say

researchers - pointing to the benefits of close family relationships.

The suicide rate among more than 21,000 twins was 26% less for men and 31%

lower for women.

It made no difference whether the twins were identical or non-identical.

Twins of all ages, from those born in 1870 to those born more recently

showed exactly the same difference.

This is despite the fact that twins have a slightly higher than average rate

of mental illness compared with the general population.

This should mean, in theory, a higher suicide rate than normal.

Family benefit

Researchers, from the Danish Twin Registry in Odense, wrote, in the British

Medical Journal: " Our findings show exactly the opposite, further

underscoring the importance of strong family ties. "

However, while the presence of parents who stay together has often been

cited by studies as a factor in reduced suicide rates, there are relatively

few studies which examine whether siblings have an influence.

They wrote: " Twins represent an unique sibling relationship - they not only

share the same family and social environment at least for the first part of

their lives, but they also show a higher level of closeness both in terms of

the numbers of years spent together before leaving the parental home and in

the frequency of contacts afterwards. "

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