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Suicide rates among public mental health patients
Author(s) -
Evenson R. C.,
Wood J. B.,
Nuttall E. A.,
Cho D. W.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1982.tb00933.x
Subject(s) - commit , psychiatry , mental health , medicine , suicide prevention , population , suicide attempt , public health , suicide rates , occupational safety and health , poison control , demography , psychology , medical emergency , environmental health , nursing , pathology , database , sociology , computer science
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.