Suicide after Suicide Attempt in Severe Depression: A Long-Term Follow-Up

• Published in: Suicide & life-threatening behavior Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 381 - 388
• Main Author: BRADVIK, Louise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2003; Guilford
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Clinical Medicine; Depression (Psychology); Depressive Disorder - mortality; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Klinisk medicin; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Men; Mental depression; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychomotor Disorders - psychology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psykiatri; Risk Factors; Schizophrenia; Suicide; Suicide - psychology; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicides & suicide attempts; Survival Analysis; Sweden - epidemiology; Sweden; Mood disorder; Human; Follow up study; Risk factor; Sex; Depression; Suicide; Suicide attempt
• ISSN: 0363-0234; 1943-278X
• DOI: 10.1521/suli.33.4.381.25234

The temporal relation between completed suicide and first‐ever suicide attempt was investigated in 58 future suicides with a primary severe depression/melancholia. The median survival after a first attempted suicide was 6.7 years. Male patients with initial ratings of psychomotor retardation lived significantly longer after their initial attempt than those who were not retarded. They also had more depressive episodes compared to other male suicides and retarded controls. Thus a slow suicidal process in the men with a severe depression and psychomotor retardation is proposed. Severity, repetition, and method of suicide attempt did not decrease the survival time.