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Show D A I L Y AS H E R A L D Thursday, Suicide rates are higher in the desert Mark Muckenfuss THE RIVERSIDE, Calif. - People who live in the desert are far more likely to kill themselves than those who live in more temperate regions of California's Inland area. Local officials seemed baffled by the data revealing the trend. Experts emphasize that nu merous factors might influence these numbers, including age, sex, income levels and even illegal drug activity. While desert dwellers make up 24.7 percent of San Bernardino County's population, figures from the San Bernardino County coroner's office showed that they accounted for 36.9 percent of the suicides from May 2004 through May 2008. That difference meant that those Jiving in the High Desert areas such as Victorville, and Yucca Valley were 49.4 percent more likely to take their lives than the general population. The figure is lower in Riverside County. Based on data from the same four-yea- r period, those living in desert regions east of the Banning Pass were 30.1 percent more likely to commit suicide than those living west of the pass. Bar-sto- Eve Moscicki is associate DON'T MISS DILLARD'S... director for prevention at the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington, D.C. She cautioned against drawing conclusions from the data. "I would want to control for a lot of different factors such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status," she said. "You want to control for that and rule out all of those things first." Neither Moscicki nor any local experts contacted for this story knew of any studies on suicide that had looked at physical environment or geographical location as a risk factor. "For years there were theories that suicide rates in the Northern Hemisphere were higher than the Southern Hemisphere," she said. "I'm not sure that's the case any special events! Buy Any Webkinz Aj &et The Second Webkinz 12 Off! Friday, August August 3 Children's Departments and you can then purchase regular-pric- e a selected Webkinz at 12 off! Our selected Webkinz include: Yorkie Cow Golden Retriever (HM010 only) Lion Black & White Cat Pig Tiger Persian Kitty Cocker Spaniel Alley Cat Lil' Kinz Golden Retriever Leopard Black Bear Poodle (HM014 only) Buy any Webkinz at more." She did note that in Europe, suicide rates can vary from country to country. Many social factors, she said, play into those differences. "There's never a single explanation," she said. Some regional trends have been noted in the United States as well. "At a very crude level," she added, "we've known for years that suicides tend to be highest in the western states." How much of a role environment plays in this is unknown. Moscicki pointed out both Nevada and Alaska rank consistently in the top 10 but share few similarities when it comes to climate or terrain. Both, however, have large areas of sparsely populated land, and isolation, she said, LQ3 Australia Event Pre-Sal-e Now thru August 15 Ladies' Shoe Departments your fall Ugg wardrobe now! Visit with your Dillard's Master Shoe Fitter and review our fall styles that are on their way now. Stay one step ahead and order early. Ugg selection varies by store. Pre-ord- er Dillaid's The Style of Your Life. can be a risk factor. And while western states' suicide rates tend to be higher - particularly states in the Southwest - California is an exception. In 2005, the national suicide rate was 10.9 per 100,000 people. California's rate was 9.1, ranking it 42nd in the country. In 2007, San Bernardino County's population was 2,026,325. With 157 suicides that year, it would have a rate of 7.7 per 100,000. Riverside County's rate for the same year was 9.4. Augustine Kposowa is a professor of sociology at University of California Riverside who has studied the area's suicide demography. He had not noticed the trend of higher rates in desert areas, but he said the environment could be a factor. "Extremely hot conditions can cause people to begin to ask questions as to whether life is worth living," Kposowa said. "They look around themselves and see nothing but very hot weather, the vegetation dying they are more likely to answer in the negative." Kposowa also said age could be a factor and it does appear to have some influence on the numbers in question. For desert dwellers over age 50 in San Bernardino County, the risk of suicide is even greater. They account for 41.2 percent of suicides in that age group, making them 66.8 percent more likely to commit suicide than the general population. But older people make up a larger percentage of the population in the desert. The most recent age demographic data for San Bernardino County was culled from the 2000 census. It showed that 26.2 percent of the county's 50 and older population lived in desert areas. Even adjusting for the higher percentage, those over 50 are still 57.3 percent more likely to take their lives if they live in the desert. The risk is the same when looking at those over 70. Take an Ll Mi vUJj 0' J July 31, 2008 U.S. CONGRESS House votes to ban lead from lads' toys Jim Abrams a grass-root- environmental s organization. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The bill would double the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to $ 136 million by 2014, and give it new authority to monitor Wednesday to ban lead and testing procedures and impose civil penalties on violators. other dangerous chemicals from items such as jewelry and The CPSC was founded in 1973 rubber ducks that could end up with a staff of about 800. It in kids' mouths. now employs about half that The legislation also would number, while imports have toughen rules for testing vastly increased. It also would boost whistle-blowchildren's products and take more to muscle steps protections to encourthe Consumer Product Safety age people to report hazards to the CPSC and would direct Commission, which was criticized last year for its feeble the agency to set up a database where consumers, government handling of a flood of goods from China deemed hazardous agencies, child care providers to children. or doctors could report inci"It should be a given that dents of injury, illness, death or risk related to products. toys are not dangerous," One of the more controverHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in welcoming legislation sial provisions is the ban on six that was lauded by lawmakers types of phthalates, the chemiand consumer groups as one of cals used in a wide range of the most product plastic products. They are used to make toys such as rubber safety bills in decades. With the bill, said Rep. ducks and bath books soft and Joe Barton of Texas, top Reflexible. Tests on rats have found publican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, "our links to possible reproductive children's toys will be tested in system problems for males the laboratory before they are and the onset of early puberty tested by our children on the for females, and the European living room floors of America." Union has banned the six. The bill, a product of House-Senat- e The Breast Cancer Fund noted that when children put negotiations, would these toys in their mouths, impose the toughest lead standards in the world, banning phthalates can easily leach lead beyond minute levels in from toy to child. The bill, said the fund's director of program products for children 12 or and policy, Janet Nudelman, is younger. It would also ban children's "a first, important step toward either permanentproducts reforming the way chemicals are regulated in this country." ly or pending further study Ami Gadhia of Consumers containing six types of Union said infants are also phthalates, which are chemicals that are found in plastics exposed to phthalates through and suspected of posing teethers and health care health risks. products. While there is no conclusive The 424-- 1 vote sends the measure to the Senate, which evidence that the chemical could approve it before Concauses health problems in humans, she said a recent study gress leaves for its August recess at the end of this week. found that mothers reported The White House has voiced use of infant lotion, infant powder and shampoo was signifiopposition to parts of the legislation but has not threatened cantly associated with phtha-lat- e a veto. urinary concentrations. But phthalates, said Sharon The bill would require third-part- y Kneiss of the American Chemtesting for many children's products before they istry Council, "are an imporare marketed, a key change in tant part of our everyday lives. monitoring practices following There is no scientific basis for a year in which 45 million toys Congress to restrict phthalates 30 and children's products from toys and children's prodmillion from China ucts." were recalled. Under the new third-part- y Those included testing regimen, a standards children's jewelry, organization overseen by the 3" flashing rings CPSC would set up and run a "Spider-Ma- n and Halloween pails. mandatory protocol that test"Third-part- y testing is a cen- ing labs would have to meet to terpiece of the new law" and certify a product. No covered a victory for consumers, said children's product or toy could Ed Mierzwinski, consumer be imported without a certifiprogram director of U.S. PIRG, cation mark. 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