The authors studied 954 psychiatric patients with major affective disorders & found that 9 clinical features were associated with suicide. 6 of these were associated with suicide within 1 yr & 3 others with suicide occurring after 1 yr. These findings draw attention to the importance of 1) standardized prospective data for studies of suicide, 2) assessment of short-term suicide risk factors & 3) anxiety symptoms as modifiable suicide risk factors within a clinically relevant period. (20 refs.)