Suicide Victims’ Last Contact With the Primary Care Physician: Report From Slovenia

This study investigated the date of the last appointment (& complaint) of suicide victims in the Skofja Loka region of Slovenia. The study period was 1993-2003. Each case was assigned the closest control in terms of age & gender. Medical death certificates served as a source of information on demographics & suicide methods. Personal medical records were used to obtain the date of the last appointment (& the complaint) with the primary care physician. The same was done for the control group. 30 out of 77 suicide victims visited their physician in the last month before suicide (14/77 in the last week); only 16/77 of controls did so before the index day. In 30% of suicide victims the reason for the last visit was mental health problems (only 3% in the control group). (28 refs.)