title: When does the daily hazard rate for committing suicide stabilize in psychiatric outpatients?
abstract: To ascertain whether the daily hazard risk rate for committing suicide by psychiatric outpatients stabilizes over time, a parametric survival analysis was calculated for the 6891 outpatients who were followed by Brown, Beck, Steer, and Grisham. Approximately 3 1/4 years after a patient's initial evaluation, the daily hazard rate leveled off and dropped below the hazard rate that would occur if a constant (exponential) daily hazard rate were assumed. The cost-effectiveness of conducting follow-up studies to identify suicidal risk factors in psychiatric outpatients beyond three years was questioned.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine, Straford 08084-1391, USA. steer@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Steer
authors.forename: Gregory K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Aaron T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*