Suicide in Psychiatric Hospital In-Patients: Risk Factors and Their Predictive Power

This study examined risk factors for suicide in psychiatric inpatients & evaluated their predictive power in detecting people at risk of suicide. Using a case-control design, 112 people who committed suicide while inpatients were compared with 112 randomly selected controls. The rate of suicide in psychiatric inpatients was 13.7 per 10,000 admissions. Predictive factors after adjustment were: planned suicide attempt, actual suicide attempt, recent bereavement, presence of delusions, chronic mental illness, & family history of suicide. The clinical utility of factors identified as being strong associated with suicide is limited by low sensitivity & specificity, combined with the rarity of suicide, even in this high-risk group. (28 refs.)