Year: 2005 Source: American Journal of Psychiatry, v.162, no.10, (October 2005), p.1977-1979 SIEC No: 20060898

A study group of 5,814 patients, including 44 who died by suicide, were recruited from a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Structured diagnostic interviews & clinician ratings of the wish to live & wish to die were conducted. The outcome variable was the occurrence of suicide. A dichotomized index score of the difference between the wish to live & the wish to die yielded a hazard ratio of 6.51 for suicide. This index contributed a unique risk for suicide after controlling for age, psychiatric hospitalization, suicide attempts, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, & unemployment status. (9 refs.)