title: Alcohol use disorders among patients examined in emergency departments after a suicide attempt.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) in a population of patients examined following attempted suicide and compare suicide attempts with and without AUD.
  
  
  METHODS
  180 patients examined in an emergency department after a suicide attempt were compared with 180 controls paired for sex and age. All patients answered the CAGE and the Fagerström questionnaire. The DSM-IV-R criteria for alcohol, nicotine and cannabis abuse and dependence, as well as for borderline and antisocial personality, were checked.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of AUD was 43% among suicide attempters. Suicide attempters with AUD were more often men (52 vs. 30%), living alone (64 vs. 31%) and older (35.9 vs. 32.3 years). They were more often dependent on nicotine (87 vs. 43%) and smoked more cannabis joints (1.4 vs. 0.5). They had taken alcohol before committing suicide more often (61 vs. 23%) and had more previous suicide attempts (2.5 vs. 0.9). Additionally, suicide attempters had higher scores of sensation seeking and presented more often with an antisocial or borderline personality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  43% of the patients examined after a suicide attempt presented with AUD. Emergency units may provide an opportunity to identify their dependence disorder and offer information and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Addictive Medicine, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital, AP-HP, Paris, France. michel.lejoyeux@bch.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lejoyeux
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gastal
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergeret
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casalino
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lequen
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guillermet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*