Completed versus attempted suicide in psychiatric patients: a psychological autopsy study.
The aims of this study were to identify specific risk factors associated with completed suicide in a sample of suicide victims diagnosed with mental illness and to discriminate completed suicides from attempted suicide in individuals who did not kill themselves for at least the next 2 years after the index attempt. Ninety-four adults (34 women; 60 men; mean age = 50.81 [SD = 18.08]) admitted to the Division of Psychiatry of the Department of Neurosciences of the University of Parma who died by suicide between 1994-2004 were matched for sex and age (+/- 2 years) with 94 outpatients (mean age = 50.70 [SD = 18.08]) who made at least one suicide attempt during the years of the study. Data were gathered by proxy-based interviews with referring psychiatrists and general practitioners and from examination of medical records. Suicide victims were more likely to be not married, have poor social support (OR = 5.28), and have more voluntary and compulsory admissions to hospitals (1 admission: OR = 5.44; > 1 admissions: OR= 8.84) than suicide attempters. Suicide victims were also less likely to have had stressful life events during their childhood and adolescence (OR = 0.09) and to be divorced or widowed than were the attempters.
Innamorati
Marco
M
Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Pompili
Maurizio
M
Masotti
Vittoria
V
Personé
Federico
F
Lester
David
D
Tatarelli
Roberto
R
Girardi
Paolo
P
Amore
Mario
M
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*