Suicide and no axis I psychopathology

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Approximately 10% of suicide completers appear psychiatrically normal.
• The reasons for this apparent normality remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate psychopathology in suicide completers without an axis I diagnosis.
• To compare these cases to normal controls and suicide cases with axis I disorders.

Main Methods:

• A psychological autopsy was performed on 168 suicide cases.
• Sixteen cases without an axis I diagnosis were age and gender matched to 52 suicide completers with axis I disorders and 110 normal controls.

Main Results:

• 14 of 16 suicide cases without an axis I diagnosis showed abnormalities similar to the axis I diagnosed suicide group.
• Both suicide groups exhibited similar histories of suicide attempts, axis II disorders, and impulsive-aggressive behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Most individuals who die by suicide and appear psychiatrically normal may have an undetected underlying psychiatric process.
• Current psychological autopsy methods may fail to detect these underlying conditions.