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Serious Suicide Attempts and Risk of Suicide Death
Deepak Prabhakar1, Edward L Peterson2, Yong Hu3
1Sheppard Pratt, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Crisis
|November 5, 2020
Summary
A prior suicide attempt requiring medical attention significantly increases suicide death risk, especially for women and children. This heightened risk is most pronounced in the weeks following an attempt.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Over one million suicide attempts occur annually in the US.
- A history of suicide attempt is a critical risk factor for suicide death.
- Limited US population data exists on suicide attempts as a predictor of suicide death.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate suicide attempts requiring medical attention as a risk factor for suicide death.
- To quantify the association between medically attended suicide attempts and subsequent suicide mortality.
- To identify specific demographic groups with elevated risk.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted across eight US healthcare systems.
- 2,674 suicide decedents were matched with 267,400 controls by year and location.
- Data spanned from 2000 to 2013.
Main Results:
- A prior suicide attempt associated with a medical visit increased suicide death risk 39.1-fold (OR=79.2 for women).
- Medically attended suicide attempts were linked to 11.3% of suicide deaths.
- The highest risk was observed in children aged 10-14 (OR=98.0), with most attempts occurring within 20 weeks of death.
Conclusions:
- Prior suicide attempts requiring medical care are strongly associated with increased suicide death risk in the US.
- The risk of suicide death is particularly elevated in the period immediately following a non-fatal suicide attempt.
- Findings highlight the critical window for intervention after a medically attended suicide attempt.