Attempted suicide in manic-depressive disorder

Structured interviews were used to study rates of past suicide attempts among 123 outpatients treated for affective disorders. Subjects met the Feighner criteria for major affective illness, and bipolar and unipolar groups were identified in accordance with the Fieve-Dunner criteria. Although a small group (N = 6), the women with a history of hospitalization for depression and outpatient treatment for hypomania (BP II) had the highest rate of past suicide attempts. (66 percent). This confirms previous findings. Women showed higher rates overall (39 percent vs. 28 percent for men). Suicide attempters were found to be significantly younger than nonattempters, which is in line with previous reports that suicide risk is high early in the course of bipolar illness. A trend for attempters to have received their first treatment at a younger age suggests that early onset may be a risk factor. No differences in marital status were found between attempters and nonattempters. Males and females did not differ in number, seriousness, or lethality of attempts.