Individual and Parental Psychiatric History and Risk for Suicide Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Denmark: a Population-Based Study

Suicide risk among adolescents & young adults was explored according to detailed aspects of individual & parental psychiatric admission history. A nested case-control study used data from 4,142 Danish suicides & 82,840 matched controls, aged 9-35 years. Data were analyzed with conditional logistic regression. A history of hospitalized psychiatric illness was a strong risk factor for suicide in adolescents & young adults & the effect was greater in females than males. The elevated risk peaked in the 2 periods immediately after admission & discharge for both genders. A parental psychiatric history constituted a substantial risk factor for suicide in young people, in particular, if a mother was admitted for psychiatric illness. (20 refs.) JA