Depression and Attempted Suicide: a Hospital Based Study of 437 Patients (IN: Suicide Prevention: The Global Context. Proceedings of the 19th Congress of the IASP, March 1997, ed. by R J Kosky et al)

A survey of all cases of attempted suicide at the Royal Adelaide Hospital was conducted from 1986-1988. 437 patients participated in the study described in this paper. Subjects completed 2 self-rating depression scales. Results showed that the majority of patients hospitalized for attempted suicide had a depressive disorder. A substantial number of subjects had a high frequency of symptoms associated with endogenous-type depression, particularly so for females. Study limitations are discussed.