Illness is a risk factor for suicide

Visual impairment, neurological disorder, and malignant disease are all independently associated with suicide in elderly people. In a case-control study Waern and colleagues (p 1355) examined the consecutive records of 85 people who had committed suicide and had undergone forensic examination and of 135 living controls taken from the tax register. They found that serious illness was a risk factor for suicide, but when the sexes were analysed separately the association was not seen in women. The authors say this may be due to the small sample size.
 
(Credit: RED JAMES/PHOTONICA)



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Relevant Article

Burden of illness and suicide in elderly people: case-control study
Margda Waern, E Rubenowitz, B Runeson, I Skoog, K Wilhelmson, and P Allebeck
BMJ 2002 324: 1355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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