Citation

Salama AA. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1988; 18(4): 379-384.

Affiliation

Center for Psychiatric Education, Southern Illinois School of Medicine, Springfield 62708.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3217965

Abstract

This study supports the idea that schizophrenic patients represent a distinctive subgroup of patients who can suffer from a major depressive illness and also can commit suicide. The study showed that 22.4% of the schizophrenic population in a medium-sized psychiatric facility showed severe depressive symptoms that met the criteria for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode according to the DSM-III classification. Seven patients committed suicide during the acute phase of the illness--five during hospitalization, and two within a year of discharge. Nine patients attempted suicide during the hospitalization period, and 10 attempted suicide within a year of discharge. Nearly one-third (215) of the patients were readmitted during that year because of a recurrence of acute schizophrenic symptoms; of these, 84 were having severe depressive symptoms. The study also provides indications of the causes of suicide in these patients.