Suicide and Alcoholism: Distinguishing Alcoholic Patients With and Without Comorbid Drug Abuse

Psychological autopsy data were used to test the hypothesis that alcoholic patients with comorbid drug use disorders who died by suicide are distinguishable from alcoholic suicide victims without a comorbid drug use disorder. Analyses controlled for age & gender indicated the 35 victims without a comorbid drug use disorder were more likely to have had a comorbid major depression & less likely to have told someone they were contemplating suicide. Scores on a measure of illness burden increased with age among the group without a comorbid drug use disorder but not in the 26 victims with comorbid drug use disorders. (22 refs.)