Citation

Wetherall K, O'Connor R. Br. J. Gen. Pract. 2023; 73(732): 292-294.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Royal College of General Practitioners)

DOI

10.3399/bjgp23X733197

PMID

37385764

Abstract

Primary care has a significant role to play in suicide prevention. Evidence across a range of studies suggests that, on average, 80% of people who die by suicide have been in contact with primary care in the year before dying by suicide, and 44% in the preceding month.1 Although this represents a significant opportunity for preventative measures, the challenges of identifying who is at risk and how to optimally intervene remain stark.

Of all suicide deaths registered in 2021 in England and Wales, three-quarters were by males.2 Moreover, middle-aged males are the highest risk group, as from 2010 onwards, the suicide rates for males aged 45-64 years are higher than every other age-specific group (20.1 deaths per 100 000 in 2021). Therefore, this group represents an important target for suicide prevention efforts, although age and gender alone are insufficient for suicide risk detection purposes.

To address this challenge we need to better characterise risk in this group. To this end, Mughal and colleagues3 conducted a national case series study to establish antecedents to suicide in middle-aged males who had consulted a GP before dying by suicide. Drawing from a range of data sources, including the coroner, police, criminal justice, and NHS reports, they found that two-fifths (43%) had consulted a GP in the previous 3 months, with more than half reporting a mental health problem. Further, males who had recently consulted their GP were more likely to report a …

Language: en