Suicide in schizophrenia: risk factors, therapy and preventive strategies

Among patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, as many as 40% attempt suicide at some time in their lives, and approximately 10% die from suicide. The emotional, economic, and societal costs of suicidal behavior are enormous, making identification of ways to predict and reduce this risk a high priority public health issue. The gratest risk for suicidal behavior is while in the hospital or within the 6 months subsequent to discharge from the hospital. In schizophrenia, individuals with suicidal behavior are hospitalized significantly more frequently than non-suicidal individuals. Therefore clinicians must increase their assessment of suicidal behavior. Methodical assessment of suicidal ideation and aggressive treatment with psychological, social, and pharmacologic approaches are vital aspects of patient management. Determination of reliable predictors of suicide risk would not only help reduce the mortality associated with suicide attempts but could also permit more rational allocations of resources for treatment and should reduce the emotional and economic burden of this behavior on families and society. In this paper was considering risk factors for suicide in schizophrenic patients and the implications for preventive strategies.