Patients with suicidal behavior (SB) who are admitted into psychiatric hospitals are considered to be at a higher risk of suicide. However, the number of studies that have addressed this population of patients is insufficient when compared to the number of studies conducted on suicidal patients in psychiatric hospitals, both in emergency and regular IPD settings.
Suicidal behavior (SB) is a chief concern for mental health practitioners and often an underlying cause of emergency treatment and admission into psychiatric hospitals. It also requires the individual attention of the mental health practitioner as it is usually seen as a salient sign of a high risk of suicide. Psychiatric disorders have been established to be a major contributory factor for suicidal behavior among patients in psychiatric hospitals. Treatment of these disorders is likely to play an important role in plummeting SB recurrence and averting suicide.
Most of the contemporary studies suggest that suicide is one of the leading causes of untimely death among patients with chronic psychotic disorders.
Suicidal behavior is closely associated with mental disorders. Practically all mental disorders bear an augmented risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide. Psychiatric disorder may be a nearly necessary, yet inadequate, risk factor for suicide. Approximately 90 % of persons who attempt or commit suicide meet diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disarray, the psychiatric disorder most often being mood disorder, substance use disorder, psychosis, and personality disorders. The peril of suicidal behavior in nervousness disorders and eating disorders, both having strong co-morbidity with depression, is often misjudged. Ineffective treatments, co-morbidity, non-compliance with treatment / administration of prescribed medication are some of the most common issues and challenges faced during treatment of suicidal persons.
On the other hand, there is also increasing evidence of lower risk of suicidal behavior in cases of closely monitored long-term treatment of suicidal patients, indicating that treatment adherence is an important factor in cases of medical suicide prevention.
Suicidal behaviors usually result from a combination of several factors.
The primary risk factor in suicide which can be treated is depression:
The strongest predictor of suicide is the amount of time spent during an episode of depression. Suicide is more common when major depression or bipolar depression is accompanied by severe anxiety. Risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts may increase in younger age groups in case antidepressant drugs are administered:
Following are a few more risk factors for suicide:
Leave a comment