Risk of Suicide and Spouse’s Psychiatric Illness or Suicide: Nested Case-Control Study

The author investigated the association between a spouse’s psychiatric illness, suicide, & other cause of death, & one’s own suicide. Using data from Denmark, a greater risk of dieing by suicide was found to be associated with a spouse who had been admitted to hospital with a psychiatric disorder, or who had died, particularly if the cause was suicide. Risk of suicide was particularly great in people whose spouse had been first admitted within the previous 2 years, which advocates a causal relationship. (5 refs)