The Connection between Short Birth Length and Suicide:

Height may suggest an individual’s self-image. People who are taller than those around them may feel more confident or empowered. Taller people may even use height for protection because they can intimidate particularly if they are a lot taller than those they are opposing. Height could even be used to get a good job. This is especially true if the job needs a certain height.

Shorter people can still be successful and have the same self-confidence that taller people have. Nevertheless, taller individuals are looked at as gifted because there are things that they can do because of the extra advantage of their height.  

Complementing this idea is the recent study showing that someone’s height might suggests a risk of suicide. The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reported that babies who were born short have a higher risk of committing suicide.

Men were the focus of this report, and the monitoring and surveying was on male babies. Specifically, it was found that those who were below 47cm or 18.5 inches at birth will have higher suicide rates. 

Three hundred thousand male babies born in Sweden from 1973-1980 were studied to reach this conclusion. Even if those who were born shorter grow up to be somewhat taller than other people, it has no effect. The suicide risk will remain the same.

The study reached a conclusion that was quite surprising. Men born normally aren’t immune to the risk of suicide. Those who were normal at birth and then can’t grow taller as an adult will have an increased risk of suicide. Fifty-six percent of men who look at themselves as shorter then the majority of others are more likely to take their own life. 

This rate is both surprising and alarming because height plays a part in making a determination of one’s suicidal tendency. There are also other things that affect the suicide rate. Those who were born prematurely are four times more prone to suicide. 

The conclusion was based on the fact that those born prematurely are born short, can have problems with their health, and may not reach the ideal weight expected in newborns. As indicated earlier, those who were premature might grow to be healthy and tall but still have an increased risk of committing suicide. 

The people that completed the research pointed out that level of serotonin in someone’s brain, is the cause of this behavior. This chemical is essential for newborns because it aids in brain development and can, also, assist in the prevention of compulsive behavior.

Aggression seen later in life is linked to a lack of the chemical at birth. This means that babies that weren’t the result of normal prenatal care or an easy birth are less likely to have correct development of the brain because of the amount of serotonin in their bodies.