Suicide in the elderly: a psychological autopsy study in a north Italy area (1994-2004)
| Autor: | Mario Amore, Maurizio Pompili, Paolo Girardi, David Lester, Marco Innamorati, Vittoria Masotti, Federico Personnè, Roberto Tatarelli, Cristina Di Vittorio |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Suicide Prevention medicine.medical_specialty Adolescent Psychological autopsy Poison control Suicide prevention elderly Occupational safety and health Interviews as Topic Life Change Events Catchment Area Health prevention Injury prevention Prevalence medicine Humans Young adult Psychiatry suicide Aged suicide elderly psychological autopsy prevention Depressive Disorder business.industry Incidence Human factors and ergonomics Loneliness Middle Aged Psychiatry and Mental health Italy psychological autopsy Female Geriatrics and Gerontology medicine.symptom business |
| Popis: | Objectives The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate the role of several variables hypothesized in previous research to be associated with suicide in older adults. Design Psychological autopsy study. Setting Suicides who were resident in the province of Parma and Piacenza and who died between 1994 and 2004. Participants Ninety-nine elderly suicides (age ≥65 years; 77 men and 22 women) and 134 younger comparison suicides (115 men and 19 women). Younger victims were subdivided in two more homogeneous groups: young adults (age Measurements Direct proxy-based interviews with relatives and family physicians. Results Elderly victims were nine times (OR = 9.09; 95% CI: 1.32–62.63) more likely to live alone, 26 times (OR = 26.76; 95% CI: 9.04–79.24) more likely to be retired, and 14 times (OR = 14.57; 95% CI: 2.48–85.65) more likely to have attended school for no more than 5 years than adult suicides. Although, more than 50% of older suicides were diagnosed as DSM–IV–TR depressed, only 20%–30% of them had been treated with medications. Conclusion Diverse patterns of risk factors for suicide have to be evaluated in older adults. Physicians must be aware that the concomitant presence of depressive symptoms and several life events (especially loss and loneliness in women and physical illness in men) should be considered warning signs for suicidal behavior. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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