TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Characteristics of persons who die on their first suicide attempt: results from the National Violent Death Reporting System
JO  - Psychological medicine
A1  - Jordan, Joshua T.
A1  - McNiel, Dale E.
SP  - 1
EP  - 8
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Much of suicide research focuses on suicide attempt (SA) survivors. Given that more than half of the suicide decedent population dies on their first attempt, this means a significant proportion of the population that dies by suicide is overlooked in research. Little is known about persons who die by suicide on their first attempt-and characterizing this understudied population may improve efforts to identify more individuals at risk for suicide. <br><br>METHODS: Data were derived from the National Violent Death Reporting System, from 2005 to 2013. Suicide cases were included if they were 18-89 years old, with a known circumstance leading to their death based on law enforcement and/or medical examiner reports. Decedents with and without a history of SA were compared on demographic, clinical, and suicide characteristics, and circumstances that contributed to their suicide. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 73 490 cases met criteria, and 57 920 (79%) died on their first SA. First attempt decedents were more likely to be male, married, African-American, and over 64. Demographic-adjusted models showed that first attempt decedents were more likely to use highly lethal methods, less likely to have a known mental health problem or to have disclosed their intent to others, and more likely to die in the context of physical health or criminal/legal problem. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: First attempt suicide decedents are demographically different from decedents with a history of SA, are more likely to use lethal methods and are more likely to die in the context of specific stressful life circumstances.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0033-2917
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719001375
ID  - ref1
ER  -