Citation

Martinucci M, Bani A, Di Fiorino M. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 65.

Affiliation

Versilia Hospital, U.O.C. Psichiatria Via Aurelia 335, 55043 Lido di Camaiore (LU), Italy. mirkomartinucci@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963962

Abstract

Prediction and prevention of suicide is one of the most complex clinical problems. We have analysed the relation between suicide and some variables considered to be predictive factors for this event (civil status, previous self-inflicted injuries or aggressiveness gestures, substances abuse, onset age of the psychiatric disorder, hallucinations or delusions, forced hospital admissions, familiarity for psychiatric disorders). We compared 22 cases of suicide occurred in Versilia area from 1994 to 2003 with an equal number of inpatients, admitted to hospital in the same period, matched for age, gender and diagnosis. Only involuntary hospital admissions showed a significant correlation with suicide: while 60% of those who had never received an involuntary admission died for suicide, this occurred only in 20% of patients admitted in hospital against their will (p=0.02). Logistic regression also showed that only involuntary hospital admissions had a negative predictive value towards suicide (B=-3.37; p=0.007). This result is surprising since patients involuntarily admitted into hospital typically have a heavier psychopathological burden and a most severe symptomatologic impairment, with a hypothetically greater likelihood of committing suicide. It is possible that an involuntary admission allows an otherwise unrealisable treatment and control of the patient, thus acting as a preventive measure against suicide.

Language: en