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Psychiatric co-morbidity, suicidal behaviour and suicidal ideation in alcoholics seeking treatment
M Driessen1, C Veltrup, J Weber
1Department of Psychiatry, Lübeck School of Medicine, Germany.
Aims:
To estimate the impact of co-morbid disorders for suicidal ideas in alcohol-dependent subjects seeking treatment.
Design:
Life-time psychiatric co-morbidity and previous suicidal behaviours were assessed retrospectively after detoxification (t1). In addition, suicidal behaviours were assessed 12 months after discharge (t2).
Setting:
An inpatient detoxification treatment unit.
Participants:
Two hundred and fifty dependent inpatients were studied after detoxification. One hundred and forty-nine of them participated in the follow-up face-to-face interviews.
Measurements:
Using two extended standardized interviews (CIDI and IPDE) psychiatric co-morbidity (DSM-III-R, Axes I and II) was assessed at t1; suicide attempts were reported at t1 and t2, and suicidal ideas were assessed at t2.
Findings:
A history of suicide attempts was reported by 29.2% at t1, and suicidal ideas by 14.1% and suicide attempts by 5.4% at the follow-up (t2). One female patient committed suicide within 6 months of discharge from hospital. The following co-morbidity patterns were associated with the greatest risk for suicidal ideas. Anxiety and depressive disorders, Axes I and 11 disorders, and a history of suicide attempt (for suicidal ideas at (t2). CONCLUSION. Our results underline the importance of psychiatric co-morbidity for the suicidal risk in alcohol-dependent patients, while alcoholism itself appears to be only a moderate risk factor.