Suicide more common in short men, says study

Swedish researchers say they have discovered a link between height and suicide among males in their country.

"Suicide is more common among short men," according to Stockholm's Karolinska Institute in a paper published by the American Journal of Psychiatry. "An increase in height of 5cm cuts the risk of suicide by 9 per cent.

"Short men are twice as much at risk of suicide as tall men," the study said, underlining its findings did not extend to women or old people.

The study covered almost 80 per cent of Swedish males born between 1950 and 1981 and gave no detailed figures for the point at which the risk of suicide increased. It suggested that shorter people were more likely to be victims of psychoses than their taller counterparts.