Suicide rates among public mental health patients

Abstract

Age-specific suicide rates are presented, based on 207 white patients of the Missouri Department of Mental Health who were identified as having committed suicide during 1972-74. Results, divided by age, sex, diagnosis and patient status, are compared with other studies. Male inpatients are about five times more likely to commit suicide compared to the general population, while female inpatients are about 10 times more likely to do so. In both sexes, the rate is greatest for the diagnosis of major affective disorder. A history of psychiatric treatment increases the suicide risk more for women than for men, although male patients are still about twice as likely to commit suicide than are female patients. A quantitative model is presented which describes the relative influence of age, sex and diagnosis on suicide rates.

Suicide Among Patients with Schizophrenia: A Consideration of Risk and Protective Factors

“…The mean age of patients with schizophrenia who commit suicide is approximately 33 (10,14), with one study noting the greatest risk occurring between 20 and 39 (57), and a more general range cited between 22-40 (33). The higher rate of suicide seen amotig young people with schizophrenia is discordant with trends in the general population.…”

Suicide in schizophrenia

“…Pokorny (1964) calculated that the suicide rate for male schizophrenic patients was 167/100,00O/year compared with the then US national rate of about 10/100,00O/year. Evenson et al (1982) estimated that the age-adjusted suicide rate for male schizophrenic patients was 210/100,000 while the rate for females was lower at 90/100,000. Wilkinson (1982), using the Camberwell Psychiatric Case Register, estimated that the annual suicide rate for first admission schizophrenic patients was between 500 and 750/100,000.…”

Suicide in Association with Psychiatric Hospitalisation

“…The most complete collation of suicide in relation to hospitalisation is that done by State or countrywide automated analysis, such as reported by Copas and Robin (1982) for England and Wales, and Nuttall et af. (1980) and Evenson et al (1982) for the State of Missouri. Such an analysis is not yet available in South Australia.…”