Citation

Crona L, Mossberg A, Bradvik L. Depress. Res. Treat. 2013; 2013: 610245.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Psychiatry, Lund University Hospital, 221 85 Lund, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Hindawi Publishing)

DOI

10.1155/2013/610245

PMID

24455226

Abstract

Objective. To describe the suicidal career in the long-term course of severe depression. Subjects and Method. Seventy-five former in-patients were interviewed by telephone about course of depression and suicide attempts 37-53 years after index admission. Medical records were read in many cases. Results. 29 subjects had attempted suicide, 13 repeated, 10 made severe, and 13 violent attempts. The risk of suicide attempt decreased by 10% for every decade spent depressed. Suicide attempts were made early in course of depression, and more time was spent depressed after suicide attempts than before. Conclusions. A healing process of the suicidal career, which may occur long before the end of the last depressive episode (sometimes decades), is proposed.

Language: en