BACKGROUND: Suicide is a major public health problem. Elderly people have a higher risk of death by suicide than other age groups. Studies focusing on the elders who had suicide attempt recently are needed.
METHODS: This is a case series study using data from a university hospital from 2011 to 2021. Five cases of repeated suicide attempts over the age of 65 years within 90 days were reported and investigated.
RESULTS: Three patients were female, and two of them had previous psychiatric history of depression. The other two patients were male and older than the female patients. The case series demonstrated that all five patients used different methods in the first and the repeated suicide attempt. Only two patients received acute psychiatric hospitalization after a suicide attempt, one of whom was admitted after the first-time suicide attempt, and the other who received psychiatric hospitalization care after the repeated suicide attempt. All these individuals eventually survived their repeated suicide attempts. Two of the patients performed dangerous cuts and underwent surgical intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric suicidality is an important issue to be aware of. Our study demonstrated the demographic and clinical features of the elders who conducted repeated suicide attempts within 3 months. The findings provide implications for efforts to prevent elderly suicide.
Language: zh
Keywords
geriatric suicide; repeated suicide; suicide; suicide in the elderly