Season for Suicides
(Continued from page 1)
during that peiiod with psychiatric
disorders other than depression were also
charted. That curve did not follow tho
seasonal curve found for suicide and
depression. Admissions for other
diagnoses peaked in May, January and
October.
Zung also checked the data to see
whether suicide rates are any higher
during special holiday perrods-New Year,
Easter, iVlemorial Day, July 4, Labor Day,
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dividing the
total suicides by 52 weeks, he found that
the average number that could be
expected any week of the year was 10.
He found that the suicide frequency
was no greater during holiday weeks than
during any other weeks of the year. There
were 10.4 suicides Christmas week, and
the rates for the other special weeks
ranged from 9 to 11.9.
Zung also found no difference
between suicide rates on weekends and
weekdays. However, he found that
Monday has the highest rate of any day
of the week. The rate drops throughout
the week to a Saturday low, then climbs
Sunday and peaks Monday.
Comparing suicide figures with the
average temperature for each month,
Zung found a strong negative correlation
between the two. The hotter it is, the
lower the suicide rate. But he found no
strong correlation between the
temperature and cases of depression.
"We must ask what is it about spring
and early winter that will help us know
something about suicide and depression,"
Zung said.
In the'late 19th century,
sociologist-statistician Emile Durkheim
found that suicides peaked in summer. He
hypothesized that it must be based on
conflicts in interpersonal relationships
since people interacted with others more
m
DR. WILLIAM W.K. ZUNG
in the summer than when they were shut
in for the winter.
But Zung said most authors today
when they look at the seasonal variation
in suicides base it on intrapersonal
feelings.
"The suicidal and depressed people
feel out of step with the changing
seasons," Zung said. "They're dead
inside, cold, empty. It's warm outside,
alive, changing. The contrast makes them
feel out of step with the world.
"The poets have always been able to
express this dichotomy between the
inside feelings and the surroundings," he
added.
-YVONNE BASKIN
Duke Receives Grant
The Surdna Foundation, Inc., has
awarded a S50,000 grant to the medical
center for support of its cancer research
program.
The funds will be used over a five-year
period to provide research fellowships in
the cancer research program.
The Surdna Foundation, of Yonkers,
N.Y., was created in 1917 by John
Andrus.
Trading Post
You may send ads to "Trading Post,"
Box 3354, Hospital. Ads are printed free,
but we do not advertise real estate,*
personal services or com mercial
enterprises. Please give your home
telephone number; Dulce extensions will
not be listed.
WANTED-Leica camera in mint condition,
also extra lenses, prefer screw mount model
Call 682-7056.
FOR SALE--1969 12 x 60 2 bedroom
mobile home, spanish decor, bar with bar
stools, many extras including washer dryer, air
conditioner, large utility building, front porch
with wrought iron railing. Located on large
shady lot in mobile home park, 15 minutes
from Duke and UNC. Call 967-3811 after 6
p.m. weekdays and weekends.
FOR SALE-Kenwood AM/FM receiver {40
watts) SlOO, Martin alto saxophone, S95; riding
boots and hat. Call 477-1901.
WANTED-Air Conditioner, around 18 000
BTU. Call 477-1901.
FOR SALE-Easter bunnies, S2 each, make
great pets, easy to care for, quiet and clean,
California rabbits, white and black nose, ears,
tail and feet. Call 929-6120 or write Box 3463,
Duke Hospital.
ntcucom
:s published weekly for Duke
University Medical Center employes, faculty, staff,
students and friends by the Medical Center's
Office of Public Relations, Joe Sigler, director;
Miss Yvonne Baskm, medical writer; Mrs. Nancy
Hayes, secretary.
Co Ed, tors
DAVID WILLIAMSON
DALE MOSES
Public Relations Advisory CornmittHc: S.'jm A.
Agnello, audiovisual education, Dr Ronert
Anderson Jr., surgery, James L. Bennetr Jr , vice
ptesident's office; V^ayne Gooch, personnel. Dr.
Athos Ottolenghi, ijhysiology and phbrmacology,
Richard Peck, hospital administration; Ms. Julia
Taylor, RN, nursing; Dr. Tom C. Vanaman,
ffHcrob^logy and immunology.
FOR SALE -6,000 BTU Sears air
conditioner, originally S180, asking $100; triple
pleated drapes, sky blue polyester, 71%" x 54";
SI 5; and blue cotton cafe curtains, $3. Call
383-191 5 nights or write to Box 2853.
LOST-Gray cat, female, spayed, identifying
^mark — small white spot under neck. Cali
286-9289.
FOR SALE--1967 Dodge Polara, 4-door, one
owner, very good car, $895. Call 682-2578.
FOR SALE-1968 Chevrolet Impala, 4-dr
sedan, air conditioner, power brakes and
steering, rear-window defroster, good
condition, clean, 76,000 mi„ $775. Call
489-2530 nights and weekends.
FOR SALE-1971 Kawasaki 90, 2,180 mi.,
good condition. Call 682-2503 after 4 p.m.
FOR SALE-1964 Thunderbird, very clean,
A/C, mechanically sound, $600. Call 489-6781
after 5 p.m.
FOR SALE-Cox camper, 10 foot, 1968
model, opens to 18' and includes gas stove with
bottle, sink with' water supply, ward robe and
ice box, sleeps 6, excellent condition, $850
Call 477-6178.
FOR SALE-Minolta camera, SRT-101, with
57mm, f.1.4, 1 MC Rokkor 135mm, f.2.8, 1
MC Rokkor 35mm, f.2.8, also color and black
and white filters, will sell in part or as a system,
absolute mint condition. Call Thom Haney at
286-2786.
FOR SALE-White Chevelle Mailbu V8, 227
c.i., 1967, 47,000 mi., very reliable car in
excellent condition, driven mostly to and from
Chapel Hill, power steering and power brakes,
radio, tinted glass, automatic transmission,
$900. Call Hal or Barbara Hawkins at 383-4760
after 6 p.m.
FOR SALE-One oak desk with chair, 48" x
34 , natural wood color, excellent condition;
one oak bookcase with two shelves, mahagony
color, excellent condition; Smith-Corona
portable typewriter, practically new; and two
desk lamps, good quality. Call 489-1272 after 5
p.m.
WANTED-Dining room set with six chairs,
prefer type that has extension piece. Call
Chapel Hill at 942-1154 after 6 p.m. or write
Box 3708, Duke Hospital.
. HONOR STUDENTS-?\ctwe6 above in their nursing uniforms are LPN Mary Burkett
(left) and ALPN Wilba Gerald who will complete work for their B.S. in nursing degrees
in May. The two are among five Duke employes who are to receive bachelor's degrees
this spring sponsored by the Paths for Employe Progress program. Ms. Burkett and Ms
Gerald were recognized April 6 at the North Carolina Central University's annual
Awards Day ceremony for maintaining dean's list academic standing for at least three
and a half years. Flanking them in the photograph are P.E.P. counselors Lee Edwards
(at far left) and Sylvia Smith whose job it is to advise and assist employes who have
taken advantage of the advancenfient opportunities which the university provides.
(Photo by Dale Moses)
Professional News
Presents Papers
Grace Polansky, associate
in psychiatry, presented a
paper entitled "Patient's Use
of Health Service Systems
Over Time — The Impact of
Patient and Family” at the
Institute on Social Work in
Health Care, at Quail Roost on
January 25. The institute was
initiated and sponsored by the
N.C. Council of the National
Association of Social Workers;
Virginia-Carolinas Chapter of
the Society of Hospital Social
Workers; UNC School of
Social Work; and the UNC
School of Public Health.
Ms. Polansky also led a symposium on
Understanding and Helping the Aging Client at
Virginia Commonwealth University's School of
Social Work in Richmond, March 7-9. At the
symposium she presented papers on
Prevalence of Problems of Functioning:
Social, Physiological, Mental;" "Recognition of
Signs of Impairment;" "Psycho-Dynamic
Approach to Understanding the Elderly .and
Their Dependent Needs and Behavior,"
"Psycho-Dynamics of Helping;" and
"Knowledge. Attitudes, and Skills in
Understanding and Helping the Aging Client."
Speaker
Wilma A. Minniear, director of the nursing
service, was guest speaker at the Management
Institute sponsored by the Society for
Hospital Nursing Service Administrators in San
Antonio, Texas, Jan. 25-26.
Attends Meeting
Dr. Ruby L. Wilson, dean of the School of
Nursing, attended the North Carolina League
for Nursing annual convention in Raleigh
March 22-23.
Dr. Wilson also attended an alumni dinner
in Charleston, S.C., March 23.
Speal(er
Dr. David C. Sabiston Jr., James B. Duke
Professor and chairman of the Department of
Surgery, was a speaker at the Kansas City
Surgical Society meeting in Kansas City, Mo.,'
March 21.
He also was a member of the University of
Miami visiting committee which held its
nneeting in Miami, Fla., March 23.
Delivers Papers
Dr. W. Doyle Gentry, assistant professor of
medical psychology, was invited to participate
in tvyo symposium deliveries at the
Southeastern Psychologicial Association
meetings in New Orleans, La., April 5-7. The
papers he delivered were "Shock and
Schedule-Induced Aggression: Past Reflections
and Future Directions," and "Behavioral
Treatment of Somatic Disorders."
Attends Meeting
Mrs. Chancellor Driscoll, associate in
psychiatric social work, attended a meeting
March 14-16 of the sixth annual International
Fibrosis Congress.
Radiology^s Lucy Bass Wins Award
Lucy Bass, a P.E.P. sponsored
participant in the medical center's X-ray
Technology Certificate Program, has been
awarded first place in a student technical
writing competition held by the North
Carolina Society of Radiologic
Technology. She will journey to Asheville
tomorrow to receive the award and
present her paper before a meeting of the
society at the Holiday Inn West.
The title of" Ms. Bass's discussion is
"Adrenal Angiography." She explained
that adrenal angiography is a complicated
procedure infrequently done in radiology.
In her paper she has attempted to
describe to students the anatomy affected
by the procedure, the equipment utilized
and the proper method for carrying it
out.
The paper was selected from more
than 150 entries representing 22 X-ray
technology certificate programs
throughout the state.
Ms. Bass will complete her work for
the certificate in August and ho|3es to
remain at Duke in the Department of
LUCY BASS
Radiology. November 19 will mark
beginning of her twelfth year at
medical center.
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