TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2006//
TI  - Physical illness burden in elderly suicide attempters
JO  - Psychiatria Danubina
A1  - Wiktorsson, Stefan
A1  - Waern, Margda
SP  - 67
EP  - 67
VL  - 18
IS  - Suppl 1
N2  - Aims: There is some evidence that serious physical illness is a stronger predictor of suicide in men than in women. The aim was to examine physical health in elderly suicide attempters and to test for gender differences. Methods: Suicide attempters aged 70+ (n=88, mean age 80 (range 70-91), 47 women and 41 men) at hospitals in western Sweden took part in an interview. Physical illness burden was rated with the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G). A person was considered to have a serious physical condition if a score of 3 or 4 was noted in any organ category. High overall physical illness burden was defined as a CIRS-G sum >10. Results: While there was no significant difference in proportions with serious physical illness (63% of the men and 60% of the women), mean total illness burden was significantly greater in men (10.5 vs. 8.7 in women). Almost half of the men (46%) had a high overall illness burden. This was significantly higher than the proportion in women (26%). Conclusions: Physical illness is prevalent in elderly suicide attempters. Our preliminary findings suggest a gender difference concerning physical illness burden.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0353-5053
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -