@article{ref1,
title="Psychiatric medication intake in suicide victims: gender disparities and implications for suicide prevention",
journal="Journal of forensic sciences",
year="2016",
author="Paraschakis, Antonios and Michopoulos, Ioannis and Christodoulou, Christos and Koutsaftis, Filippos and Douzenis, Athanassios",
volume="61",
number="6",
pages="1660-1663",
abstract="Frequency and gender differences of psychiatric medication intake in a sample of suicide victims from the Athens Greater Area were investigated with a particular focus on the implications for suicide prevention. Data were collected from the toxicological analyses of the suicide cases of the period November 2007-October 2009. Information was available for 262 individuals, 196 men (74.8%) and 66 women (25.2%); 109 of these (41.6%) were receiving psychiatric medication(s). Women were statistically more frequently under treatment: antidepressants (32.8% vs. 11.3%, p < 0.001), antiepileptics (9.1% vs. 0.5%, p = 0.001), antipsychotics (24.2% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.003), and benzodiazepines (16.7% vs. 6.6%, p = 0.024). Campaigns aiming to bring men with psychological difficulties in contact with mental health services and to lessen the stigma of mental illness, together with better training of nonpsychiatrists into &quot;suspecting&quot; &quot;male&quot; depression, could be particularly helpful for decreasing male suicides. More thoughtful choice of psychiatric medication could possibly already prevent a number of female suicides.<br><br>© 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-1198",
doi="10.1111/1556-4029.13195",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13195"
}