Wayne State University economist Shooshan Danagoulian and other researchers found in a recently published study that as pollen levels go up in a metropolitan area, the number of suicides in the area increases as well.

Danagoulian, an associate professor of economics, led a research team that examined more than a decade of daily data from 34 U.S. metropolitan areas between 2006 and 2018, according to the university. Their study was published online in September and will be published in a volume of the Journal of Health Economics in December.

They looked at the impact of small health shocks, specifically allergies triggered by seasonal pollen, on suicides, according to the study. Suicides increased by up to 7.4% in a county when pollen levels were at their highest.

Danagoulian said the

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