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Suicide Attempts in an African Schizophrenia Population: An Assessment of Demographic Risk Factors
Author(s) -
Niehaus D.J.H.,
Laurent C.,
Jordaan E.,
Koen L.,
Oosthuizen P.,
Keyter N.,
Muller J. E.,
Mbanga N. I.,
Deleuze J.F.,
Mallet J.,
Stein D. J.,
Emsley R.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.34.3.320.42778
Subject(s) - xhosa , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , sibling , demography , population , suicide prevention , psychology , psychiatry , injury prevention , medicine , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , clinical psychology , medical emergency , developmental psychology , philosophy , linguistics , sociology
This study investigated demographic variables, including affected sibling pair status, as risk factors for suicidal behavior in schizophrenia patients of African (Xhosa) descent. Xhosa subjects with schizophrenia were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS) and then stratified into two groups: those with ( n = 90) and those without ( n = 364) a history of previous suicide attempts. Demographic parameters (including gender, age, and social circumstances, sib ship) were then compared across these groups. Demographic predictors of suicide included sib ship status ( p = 0.038; OR = 1.7) and age of onset of illness ( p = 0.008; OR = 2.5). On further analysis of suicide in siblings, only a minority of sib pairs was found to be concordant for a lifetime history of suicide attempts (3%). These findings raise the possibility that affected sib pair status may be protective in nature. Given the counter‐intuitive nature of this finding, further work is needed to replicate it, and to explore possible underlying mechanisms.