Diagnoses and prescriptions of antidepressants in suicides: Register findings from the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Italy, 2002-2008

• Published in: International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice 2016-01, Vol.20 (2), p.121-124
• Main Authors: Castelpietra, Giulio, Bovenzi, Massimo, Clagnan, Elena, Barbone, Fabio, Balestrieri, Matteo, Isacsson, Göran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Case-Control Studies; Comorbidity; Drug Utilization - statistics & numerical data; Female; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals, Psychiatric - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Middle Aged; Registries; Risk Factors; Self-Injurious Behavior - epidemiology; Sex Factors; Suicide - prevention & control; Suicide - psychology; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1365-1501; 1471-1788; 1471-1788
• DOI: 10.3109/13651501.2016.1149196

To explore to what extent and under which diagnoses individuals who committed suicide had received psychiatric in-patient care, and how many had previously committed non-lethal self-harm. To investigate the antidepressant treatment received by these individuals. Case-control study based on a health register. Psychiatric hospitalisation was found in 31.2% of the cases and 2.3% of the controls, and was a strong predictor for suicide with an odds ratio (OR) = 19.5. This did not differ significantly between diagnostic categories (except anxiety disorders with OR = 5.3). Non-lethal self-harm in the study period was committed by 14.3% of the cases and 0.14% of the controls, and was twice as common in female cases than in male cases. Previous self-harm was a very strong independent predictor for suicide with OR = 53.1 when a single episode of self-harm had occurred, and OR = 98.0 for repeated episodes (adjusted for age, gender and hospitalisation). Only 16.1% of the cases were currently on antidepressant medication at the time of suicide. Few of the suicides had previously been psychiatric in-patients. Even fewer had current prescriptions for antidepressants. This suggests that better diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients is an important suicide preventive intervention.