A Case Control Study of Suicide and Attempted Suicide in Older Adults

Corresponding Author

Annette L. Beautrais PhD

Canterbury Suicide Project, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Canterbury Suicide Project, Christchurch School of Medicine, P.O. Box 4345, Christchurch, New Zealand; fax: 00-64-3-3720-405; E-mail: [email protected].Search for more papers by this author

Annette L. Beautrais PhD,

Corresponding Author

Annette L. Beautrais PhD

Canterbury Suicide Project, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Canterbury Suicide Project, Christchurch School of Medicine, P.O. Box 4345, Christchurch, New Zealand; fax: 00-64-3-3720-405; E-mail: [email protected].Search for more papers by this author

First published: 19 January 2011

https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.32.1.1.22184

Citations: 223

This research was supported by Healthlink South and a grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. The work of Professor Peter Joyce, MB, ChB, PhD, FRANZCP, in establishing this study and the clinical contributions of Professor Joyce and Dr Roger Mulder, MB, ChB, PhD, FRANZCP, are acknowledged.

Share a link

Email
Wechat
Bluesky

Abstract

Risk factors for serious suicidal behavior among older adults were examined in a case control study of 53 adults aged 55 and older who died by suicide or made medically serious suicide attempts and who were compared with 269 randomly selected comparison subjects. Multivariate analyses suggested that risk of serious suicidal behavior was elevated among those with current mood disorders (OR = 179, CI = 52.8–607.6), psychiatric hospital admission within the previous year (OR = 24.4, CI = 1.9–318.7), limited social network (OR = 4.5, CI = 1.4–14.6). The predominant role of mood disorders was confirmed by population attributable risk (PAR) estimates (73.6%), suggesting that the improved detection, treatment and management of mood disorders should be the primary focus of suicide prevention strategies for older adults.

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Google Scholar
Beautrais, A. L. (1999). Risk factors for suicide and attempted suicide among young people. In Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy (Eds.), Setting the evidence-based research agenda for Australia (A literature review) (pp. 113–278). Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
Google Scholar
Beautrais, A. L. (2001). Suicide and attempted suicide: Two populations or one Psychological Medicine, 31, 837–845.
10.1017/S0033291701003889
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., & Mulder, R. T. (1996). Risk factors for serious suicide attempts among youths aged 13 through 24 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1174–1182.
10.1097/00004583-199609000-00015
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., & Mulder, R. T. (1997). Precipitating factors and life events in serious suicide attempts among youth aged 13 through 24 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1543–1551.
10.1097/00004583-199711000-00016
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Beautrais, A. L., Joyce, P. R., Mulder, R. T., Fergusson, D. M., Deavoll, B. J., & Nightingale, S. K. (1996). Prevalence and comorbidity of mental disorders in persons making serious suicide attempts: A case control study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 1009–1014.
10.1176/ajp.153.8.1009
PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Brugha, T., Bebbington, P., Tennant, C., & Hurry, J. (1985). The List of Threatening Life Experiences: A subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat. Psychological Medicine, 15, 189–194.
10.1017/S003329170002105X
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Bruzzi, P., Green, S. B., Byar, D. P., Brinton, L. A., & Schairer, C. (1985). Estimating the Population Attributable Risk for multiple risk factors using case-control data. American Journal of Epidemiology, 122, 904–914.
10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114174
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Cattell, H., & Jolley, D. J. (1995). One hundred cases of suicide in elderly people. British Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 451–457.
10.1192/bjp.166.4.451
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Cheng, T. A. (1995). Mental illness and suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 594–603.
10.1001/archpsyc.1995.03950190076011
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Conwell, Y., Lyness, J. M., Duberstein, P. R., Cox, C., Herrmann, J. H, Seidlitz, L., DiGiorgio, D., & Caine, E. D. (2000). Completed suicide among older patients in primary care practices: A controlled study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 48, 23–29.
10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb03024.x
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions ( 2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Google Scholar
Henderson, S., Duncan-Jones, P., Bryne, D. G., & Scott, R. (1980). Measuring social relationships: The Interview Schedule for Social Interaction. Psychological Medicine, 10, 723–734.
10.1017/S003329170005501X
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Henriksson, M. M., Marttunen, M. J., Isometsa, E. T., Heikkinen, M. E., Aro, H. M., Kuoppasalmi, K. I., & Lonnqvist, J. K. (1995). Mental disorders in elderly suicide. International Psychogeriatrics, 7(2): 275–286.
10.1017/S1041610295002031
CAS PubMed Google Scholar
Hepple, J., & Quinton, C. (1997). One hundred cases of attempted suicide in the elderly. British Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 42–46.
10.1192/bjp.171.1.42
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Mullen, P. E., Martin, J. L., Anderson, J. C., Romans, S. E., & Herbison, G. P. (1993). Childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 721–732.
10.1192/bjp.163.6.721
CAS PubMed Web of Science® Google Scholar
Parker, G. (1989). The Parental Bonding Instrument: Psychometric properties reviewed. Psychiatric Development, 4, 317–335.
Google Scholar
Pearson, J., Conwell, Y., & Lyness, J. M. (1997). Late-life suicide and depression in the primary care setting. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 16, 113–137.
Google Scholar
Smith, K., Conroy, R. W., & Ehler, B. D. Lethality of suicide attempt rating scale. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 14, 215–242.
Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbon, M., & First, M. B. (1988). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R—Patient version (SCID-P, 6/1/88). New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research Department.
Google Scholar

Citing Literature

Volume32, Issue1

Spring 2002

Pages 1-9

A Case Control Study of Suicide and Attempted Suicide in Older Adults

Abstract

REFERENCES

Citing Literature

References

Information

About Wiley Online Library

Help & Support

Opportunities

Connect with Wiley

A Case Control Study of Suicide and Attempted Suicide in Older Adults

Abstract

REFERENCES

Citing Literature

References

Related

Information