ABORTED SUICIDE AMONG PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENTS IN KERMAN

Background . An aborted suicide attempt is an event in which an individual comes close to committing suicide but does not complete the act, and thus sustains no injury. In this study, aborted suicide attempts among psychiatric inpatients in Kerman were examined. Methods . Of 650 patients who were admitted over a 6-month period to the Beheshti Psychiatric Hospital, Kerman, Iran, 400 were included in this study. They were assessed by a semistructured interview, and details of actual and aborted suicide attempts were clarified. Results . Fifty-six (14%) of the subjects had had at least one aborted suicide attempt over a six-month period prior to their admission. Aborted attempts were reported more often in subjects with a diagnosis of bipolar mood disorder, than schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder but there was no relationship between any diagnostic group and aborted suicide. The mean age ± SD of patients with aborted suicide was 30.8 ± 9.3 years, which was significantly lower than that of patients with no history of aborted suicide (34.6 ±11.2) (p < 0.008). Patients who had made an aborted attempt were nearly four times as likely to have made an actual suicide attempt than subjects with no aborted attempts. Conclusion . Patients with a history of an aborted suicide attempt are more likely to attempt suicide in the future. Psychiatrists should seek this type of behavior and take preventive steps.