Suicide in schizophrenia. What are we going to do about it?

Suicide is the single major cause of death among patients with schizophrenia. Follow-up studies have estimated that 10-13% of these patients die by suicide. Various studies have identified risk factors for suicide in schizophrenic patients which are of great value for prediction and prevention of self-inflicted death. Despite great efforts, both on the side of drug treatment and psychosocial strategies, the number of suicides among schizophrenic patients has remained unchanged. We focus on a number of issues that are of paramount importance for the understanding and prevention of suicide in these patients, pointing to the need of supporting programs addressed to families and to establish a valid doctor-patient relationship with these patients both during consultation with psychiatrists or general practitioners and with medical staff during inpatient treatment.