title: Habits of nervous tension and suicide.
abstract: In a prospective study of 1,046 male medical students, those who later committed suicide showed a heightened sensitivity in stressful situations as assessed by the Habits of Nervous Tension Questionnaire (HNT). Survival analyses specified 2 of the 25 HNT items as the strongest suicide predictors: Irritability (relative risk 5.5; 95% confidence interval 1.76-17.17) and Urinary Frequency (3.3; 1.07-10.32). No other risk factors for suicide emerged from family background measures or individual medical school measures. It appears that types of sensitivity reflect psychological characteristics that are long-term precursors of suicide.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016019:Survival Analysis