The Wessex Recent In-Patient Suicide Study, 2. Case-control study of 59 in-patient suicides.
BACKGROUND
Psychiatric patients have an elevated risk of suicide while in hospital.


OBJECTIVE
To compare social, clinical and health-care delivery factors in in-patient and out-patient suicides and their controls.


METHODS
Retrospective case-control study of 59 in-patients and 106 controls, matched for age, gender, diagnosis and admission date. Odds ratios were calculated using conditional multiple logistic regression.


RESULTS
There were seven independent increased-risk factors: history of deliberate self-harm, admission under the Mental Health Act, involvement of the police in admission, depressive symptoms, violence towards property, going absent without leave and a significant care professional being on leave. When compared with out-patient suicides, in-patients were more often female and male in-patients had a psychotic illness. Unlike the out-patient suicides, social factors were not found to be significant.


CONCLUSIONS
The characteristics of in-patient and out-patient suicides differ. Identified risk factors have relatively low sensitivity and specificity.
King
E A
EA
Mental Health Group, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. eak@soton.ac.uk
Baldwin
D S
DS
Sinclair
J M
JM
Campbell
M J
MJ
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data