title: Predictors of suicide in Asian patients with first episode psychosis.
abstract: High rates of suicide have been reported in psychotic disorders, particularly in the early phases. Studies examining suicide risk during the first episode of psychosis (FEP) are lacking, especially in the Asian context. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of completed suicides and associated risk factors in a multi-ethnic Asian society.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 1397 patients accepted into a local Early Psychosis Intervention Programme (EPIP) was collected. This included sociodemographic and clinical data. Cox proportional-hazards regression models were performed in order to explore factors associated with time to completed suicide.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample comprised of 1397 FEP patients, with 687 females and 710 males. The mean age was 28.2 years. The prevalence of suicide in this sample was 1.9%. Of the 26 FEP patients who committed suicide, data on time to suicide was available for 23 of them. 56.5% committed suicide during the first year of follow-up. A higher risk of suicide was associated with an older age (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.31, 95% CI, 1.05-1.63), longer DUP (HR=1.05, 95% CI, 1.02-1.11), higher PANSS positive (HR=1.91, 95% CI, 1.37-2.67), higher GAF symptomatology (HR=1.16, 95% CI, 1.04-1.30) and GAF disability scores (HR=1.12, 95% CI, 1.02-1.22).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older patients with longer DUPs, higher PANSS positive and negative scores and better functioning appear to be at higher risk of suicide in this sample. Early intervention services should focus on a thorough risk assessment in order to reduce the risk of suicide during FEP.
authors.affiliation: Research Division, Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok Green Medical Park, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747, Singapore. Electronic address: Mitter_Natasha@imh.com.sg.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitter
authors.forename: Mythily
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.forename: Edimansyah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abdin
authors.forename: Lye Yin
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.forename: Swapna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asian; Duration of untreated psychosis; First episode psychosis; Suicide