Psychiatric Illness, Socioeconomic Status, and Marital Status in People Committing Suicide: a Matched Case-Sibling-Control Study

Suicides cluster in both families & persons with psychiatric disorders & socioeconomic disadvantages. Using a nested case-control study, these factors were compared between suicide cases, their siblings, & population-based controls. 985 suicide cases, 1104 gender-age matched siblings, & 16,619 controls in Denmark were studied. The suicide ratios obtained from the case-sibling & the case-control analysis, respectively, were of similar magnitude. People who died by suicide deviated similarly from siblings & controls in exposure to hospitalized psychiatric disorders & socioeconomic disadvantages, although these factors contribute to the familial aggregation of suicides. (53 refs.)