Citation

Hayase T, Yamamoto K, Yamamoto Y, Abiru H, Fukui Y. Acta Criminol. Med. Leg. Jpn. 1997; 63(3): 67-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Japanese Association of Criminology)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Premonitory symptoms of deaths in patients with mental disorders were examined retrospectively using autopsy reports from our institution spanning the period from 1988 to 1995, in which the disorders were diagnosed and the records of the symptoms were presented. An average of four of the premonitory symptoms before death, previously reported as 'risk factors for suicide' in the references, was observed in each case examined, including the cases diagnosed with substance-related disorders, whether or not the cause of death was suicide. Among the autopsy cases of suspected without any history of psychiatric disease, obvious behavioral symptoms were so rare that at most two of the premonitory symptoms had been reported, although the records were less comprehensive. We investigated through personal communications the number of cases with a suspected history of drug abuse which exceeded the total number of cases of psychiatric diseases. The limited number of cases with suspected substance-related disorders suggest that 1) the same premonitory symptoms as noted in other psychiatric disorders are observed, 2) these symptoms may be caused by large doses of administered drugs as indicated by signs of overdose, 3) symptoms included in the criteria for each substance-related disorder are usually observed before death in addition to other premonitory symptoms.

Language: en

Keywords

Autopsy; Death; Drugs of abuse; Premonitory symptoms; Psychiatric patients; Substance-related disorders; Suicide