Citation

Cheng AT, Chen TH, Chen CC, Jenkins R. Br. J. Psychiatry 2000; 177: 360-365.

Affiliation

Division of Epidemiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. bmandrew@ccvax.sinica.edu.tw

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11116779

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Few studies of suicide have simultaneously examined the individual and combined effects of psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors. AIMS: To do so in a representative sample of suicides. METHOD: A case-control psychological autopsy was conducted among 113 consecutive suicides and 226 living controls matched for age, gender, ethnicity and area of residence in Taiwan. RESULTS: Five major risk factors (loss event, suicidal behaviour in first-degree relatives, ICD-10 major depressive episode, emotionally unstable personality disorder and substance dependence) were found to have independent effects on suicide from multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Effective intervention and management for loss event and major depressive episode among emotionally unstable subjects with a family tendency of suicidal behaviour, frequently also comorbid with alcohol or other substance dependence, may prove to be most effective for suicide prevention in different populations.

Language: en