%0 Journal Article
%T Attempted suicide in older depressed patients: effect of cognitive functioning
%J American journal of geriatric psychiatry
%D 1999
%A Upadhyaya, A. K.
%A Conwell, Yeates
%A Duberstein, P. R.
%A Denning, D.
%A Cox, C.
%V 7
%N 4
%P 317-320
%X The authors explored cognitive functioning and suicidal behavior in older depressed patients. Inpatients age 50 years or older (N=103) with major depression, 45 of whom had attempted suicide, were evaluated within 1 week of their hospital admission. Measures of suicidal behavior included suicide attempter status, the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS), ratings of method used (violent/nonviolent), and seriousness of injuries sustained (lethality). The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score measured cognitive impairment; covariates were age, gender, and living arrangement. The MMSE score was not associated with suicide attempter status, but for attempters, MMSE score showed a positive association with SIS score, but not method or lethality. Findings suggest that although cognitive disturbance may be associated with less-deliberate acts among older depressed suicide attempters, it does not appear to influence the potential lethality of their behavior.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 1064-7481
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00019442-199911000-00007