Repetition of Suicide Attempts Across Episodes of Severe Depression: Behavioural Sensitisation Found in Suicide Group but not in Controls

This study investigated the distribution of initial & repeated suicide attempts across depressive episodes in suicides & controls with a unipolar severe depression. A blind record evaluation was performed of 80 suicide victims & controls admitted to the Department of Psychiatry between 1956-1969 & monitored to 2010. The risk of a first suicide attempt decreased throughout the later episodes of depression in both the suicide group & control group. The frequencies of repetition early in the course were actually higher in the control group. At the same time, there was a significantly greater decreased risk of repeated attempts during later episodes in the control group as compared to the suicide group. The differences were found despite a similar number of episodes in suicides & controls. (48 refs.) JA