Prospective cohort study of suicide attempters aged 70 and above: One-year outcomes

Background lderly persons who attempt suicide suffer from depression. This study aimed to investigate one-year outcomes in suicide attempters aged 70+, and to identify predictors of these outcomes. s rsons (mean age 80) who were hospitalized after a suicide attempt were interviewed at baseline and followed for one year by record linkage. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 71% of those who were alive after one year (60 out of 85). Outcome measures included major/minor depression, Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score, repeat non-fatal/fatal suicidal behavior and all-cause mortality. s lf (52%) of all those who were interviewed scored < 10 on the MADRS at follow-up. Among those with major depression at baseline, two thirds (26 out of 39) no longer fulfilled criteria for this disorder. Factors associated with non-remission of major depression (MADRS ≥ 10) included higher baseline depression and anxiety scores, higher suicide intent and lower Sense of Coherence. There were two suicides and six non-fatal repeat attempts. The relative risk of death (any cause) was 2.53 (95% CI = 1.45–4.10, p < 0.001). tions s a naturalistic study; participants received non-uniform treatment as usual. The proportion with repeat suicidal behavior was lower than anticipated and the study was thus underpowered with regard to this outcome. sions f the surviving attempters were free from depressive symptoms at one-year follow-up and there were relatively few repeat attempts. However, all cause mortality remained high in this elderly cohort.