Methods of suicide in different psychiatric diagnostic groups

Chen, Ying-Yeh; Lee, Ming-Been; Chang, Chia-Ming; Liao, Shih-Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2009.05.020

« Previous Next »Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume 118, Issue 1 , Pages 196-200, November 2009

Methods of suicide in different psychiatric diagnostic groups

Ying-Yeh Chen
- Taipei City Psychiatric Centre, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Public Health and Department of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
Ming-Been Lee
- Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and, College of Medicine, #7, Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 2555 0500; fax: +886 2 2550 5065.
Chia-Ming Chang
- Department of Psychiatry and Suicide Prevention Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Lin-Ko, Taiwan
Shih-Cheng Liao
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Received 25 December 2008; received in revised form 21 May 2009; accepted 21 May 2009.

Abstract

Background

An important element in suicide risk assessment is the evaluation of the intended suicide method. This study aimed to compare suicide methods in different psychiatric diagnostic groups in Taiwan.

Methods

A total of 12,391 adult suicide cases between 2000 and 2004, which were recorded in official death records, were linked to Taiwan's National Health Insurance data files. A descriptive study was conducted to compare methods of suicide across different psychiatric diagnostic groups.

Results

The proportion of jumping suicide was particularly high in cases with more severe psychopathology. Compared to suicide victims without any history of psychiatric disease, the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of jumping suicide among schizophrenic, bipolar, and major depressive patients were 3.1 (95% CI: 2.6–3.7), 2.2 (95% CI: 1.8–2.7), and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.6–2.2), respectively. Charcoal burning was less frequently used by those with a history of psychiatric diagnosis.