title: Survival time after last hospitalization among suicide victims in northern Finland.
abstract: Psychiatric patients exhibit increased suicide risk shortly after hospitalization, but little is known about patients who are discharged after treatment for physical illness. Information on all suicides over a period of 13 years in northern Finland as well as information from hospital registers were used to examine the interval between the last hospitalization and the suicide. On the basis of discharge diagnoses of physical or psychiatric illnesses, three groups were distinguished. Among victims with psychiatric disorders, survival time was shorter than among those without such a history, even if the last admission was for a physical condition. Clinicians should note the putative suicide risk among somatic patients at discharge, especially among those with a psychiatric history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Iikka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lantto
authors.forename: Kaisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Viilo
authors.forename: Helinä
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hakko
authors.forename: Terttu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Särkioja
authors.forename: V Benno
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Meyer-Rochow
authors.forename: Pirkko
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Räsänen
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Timonen
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015996:Survival Rate