Suicide Risk in Young Men and Women After Substance Intoxication

Abstract

This study investigates suicide and overdoses in 1,119 consecutive patients (64% women), 15 to 34 years of age, presenting at the emergency department after self-poisoning from1994 to 2000 and followed regarding death to 2006. Regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed for suicide and other causes of death. The patients had about a 60 times higher risk (SMR = 61.95) of death due to suicide and 26 times higher (SMR = 26.47) for all-cause mortality. Men had a nearly 2 times higher risk for suicide than women and half of the suicides occurred during the first 2 years after admission. Poisoning was the most common suicide method and early prevention of self-poisoning is crucial to reducing future deaths.

Keywords:

• gender
• mortality
• self-poisoning
• substance use
• suicide

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marlene Stenbacka

Marlene Stenbacka, Department of Clinical Neuroscience/Psychiatry Sweden/Addiction Center Stckholm, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Mats Samuelsson

Mats Samuelsson, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Peter Nordström

Peter Nordström, Department of Clinical Neuroscience/Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Jussi Jokinen

Jussi Jokinen, Department of Clinical Neuroscience/Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and Division of Psychiatry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.