Their last words: a review of suicide notes in the elderly

Suicide notes are considered as markers of the severity of a suicide attempt and are said to provide valuable insight into the thinking of suicide victims before the fatal act. However, very few studies have described elderly suicide note-writers and their final thoughts. In this retrospective review of suicide notes obtained from coroners' records in North Cheshire over a period of 13 years from 1989-2001 we examined the content of suicide notes and their clinical significance. Suicide note-writers may not be typical of the average suicide and information elicited from the study of suicide notes may only apply to note-writers and not to suicide in general. However, the absence of a suicide note must not be considered an indicator of a less serious attempt. Future studies of suicide notes need to provide insight into the unique nature of these documents and to allow better understanding of the suicidal mind.