Attempted suicide: a study of 133 cases in Jerusalem

In Israel, each year, an average of 13/100,000 people die by suicide. Attempted suicide has become one of the most important issues for hospital emergency room staff. We studied 133 cases of attempted suicide in Jerusalem in order to examine whether generally accepted risk factors for such attempts are applicable to our local population. We compared the data of 70 patients who attempted suicide and were discharged from the emergency room with those of 63 patients who attempted suicide and were hospitalized in a general hospital. We then compared the characteristics of both groups with those of patients who completed suicide. The study confirmed the hypothesis that the known suicide risk factors of male sex, age over 40 years and a previous psychiatric diagnosis are also valid in this country and must be taken into account when assessing the danger of a suicide attempt.