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November 22, 2008
Researchers say risk of completed suicide among individuals with a previous failed attempt highest in first year of follow-up
MedWire (11/21, Czyzewski) reports, "The risk for completed suicide among individuals with a previous failed attempt is especially high in the year after the initial bid," according to a study published in the BMJ.
Dag Tidemalm, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues, "analyzed data on 39,685 individual (53 percent female) who were admitted to hospital for attempted suicide between 1973 and 1982."
The researchers "found that over half of all completed suicides took place within the first year of follow-up," and that "the strongest predictor for completed suicide throughout the entire follow-up was a diagnosis of schizophrenia, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 4.1 in men, and 3.5 in women, compared with individuals with no major psychiatric disorder." Notably, "a diagnosis of bipolar or unipolar depressive disorder carried an HR for completed suicide of 3.5 in men, and 2.5 in women relative to individuals with no major psychiatric disorder."
Related Links:
- "Risk for completed suicide high in year after initial failed attempt," Andrew Czyzewski, MwedWire, November 21, 2008.
Posted by admin at November 22, 2008 12:33 PM