Citation

Callor WB, Petersen E, Gray D, Grey T, Lamoreaux T, Bennett PJ. Crisis 2005; 26(2): 78-84.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84132, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16138744

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A study of medical examiner records from suicide completers was designed to identify potential precipitating factors in the decision to commit suicide. METHODS: Forensic data has been collected for a subset of suicide victims in Utah who completed suicide between 1996 and 2002. RESULTS: Youth suicide completers appear to be undiagnosed for mental illness, or to be noncompliant with psychotropic medications. Along with treatment issues, alcohol and methamphetamine were the most common substances found in the blood and/or urine of suicide completers. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate diagnosis of mental illness, and improved compliance with psychotropic medications may play a critical role in suicide prevention. The prevalence of methamphetamine in suicide completers is unexpectedly high and requires further investigation.