Citation

Preville M, Boyer R, Hebert R, Bravo G, Seguin M. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2005; 35(1): 91-105.

Affiliation

Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. michel.preville@usherbrooke.ca

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1521/suli.35.1.91.59269

PMID

15843326

Abstract

This study was undertaken to describe the characteristics of adults aged 60 years and over who committed suicide in Quebec in 1998-1999. In this study, 42.6% of the suicide cases presented mental disorders at the time of their death, mainly depression. Sixty-five (65.3%) percent of the suicide cases would have been considered as having a mental health disorder if sub-threshold depression cases were included. Only 27.7% of the cases did not express any idea of death during the 6-month period preceding their suicide. One interesting finding was that 53.5% of the suicide cases consulted a general practitioner or specialist during the 2-week period preceding their death. Our results showed that only 8.1% had a severe level of functional limitations at the time of their death. This result leads us to interpret with caution the conclusion of some studies suggesting that physical frailty is a major causal factor associated with suicide among the elderly.