A clinical study of schizophrenic suicides. 42 cases in Taiwan

A clinical study of 25 male and 17 female schizophrenic suicides is presented. Jumping from a height was the most common method used. The 42 suicidal schizophrenics in Taiwan were compared with both 84 sex- and age-matched and 60 5-year illness course non-suicidal schizophrenic control groups. The suicidal schizophrenics were not significantly different from the non-suicidal counterparts of both control groups with regard to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, educational background, the presence of suicide cases in the family history, and the presence of insight, but were significantly different in characteristics of a history of previous suicide attempts, presence of psychotic symptoms during their final month, depression during their final month, a history of depression, a history of previous psychiatric hospitalizations, and the number of hospitalizations. We discuss the findings from this study and others in the literature in the context of the different clinical and socio-cultural backgrounds of these Taiwanese schizophrenic suicides.