Suicidality and Depression Among Adult Patients Admitted in General Medical Facilities in Kenya

All consenting adults admitted in a 4-week period at 10 general medical facilities in Kenya were interviewed for suicidal symptoms & depression. In all 2,780 patients responded to Item 9 of the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Thoughts of killing oneself accounted for 9 percent of suicidal symptoms. The younger age group had the highest prevalence of suicide symptoms. The more depressed patients were on the overall Beck Depression Inventory-II score, the higher the prevalence of suicidal symptoms. Results call for clinical practice that routinely enquires about suicidal symptoms in general medical wards. (21 refs.) JA