Coexistent Psychiatric Illness Affects Risk for Completed Suicide After Suicide Attempt

About 10% of people who have attempted suicide eventually complete suicide. Does coexistent psychiatric illness affect risk for completed suicide after an attempt? Swedish investigators sought the answer in a review of registry data for nearly 40,000 patients who were hospitalized after attempted suicide during 1973–1982; cause-of-death records from 1973–2003 also were examined.

Rates of completed suicide within 1 year of the index attempt were substantial in all coexistent psychiatric illness categories, especially in those for bipolar and unipolar disorders (64% for men; 43% for women) and schizophrenia (56% for men; 54% for women). Bipolar and unipolar disorders and schizophrenia also were significantly associated with completed suicide d…