Change in Suicide Rates for Patients With Schizophrenia in Denmark, 1981-97: Nested Case-Control Study

Changes in the risk of suicide among patients with schizophrenia & related disorders were studied by completing a nested case-control study of 18,744 people aged up to 75 years who died by suicide in 1981-1997 individually matched with 20 controls. The reduction in the suicide rate among patients with schizophrenia & schizophrenia spectrum disorder was similar to that seen in the general population of Denmark. Among people admitted to hospital with schizophrenia, the risk of suicide was highest in the first year after first admission, & the excess risk was largest in the younger age groups. (21 refs)