title: Their last words: a review of suicide notes in the elderly.
abstract: Suicide notes are considered as markers of the severity of a suicide attempt and are said to provide valuable insight into the thinking of suicide victims before the fatal act. However, very few studies have described elderly suicide note-writers and their final thoughts. In this retrospective review of suicide notes obtained from coroners' records in North Cheshire over a period of 13 years from 1989-2001 we examined the content of suicide notes and their clinical significance. Suicide note-writers may not be typical of the average suicide and information elicited from the study of suicide notes may only apply to note-writers and not to suicide in general. However, the absence of a suicide note must not be considered an indicator of a less serious attempt. Future studies of suicide notes need to provide insight into the unique nature of these documents and to allow better understanding of the suicidal mind.
authors.affiliation: Liverpool University.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salib
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: El-Nimr
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yacoub
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D014956:Writing