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Author(s): Seyed Kaveh Hadeiy [sup.1] , Narges Gholami [sup.2] , Rebecca McDonald [sup.3] , Omidvar Rezaei [sup.4] , Ali-Asghar Kolahi [sup.5] , Nasim Zamani [sup.5] [sup.6] , Alireza Shamsi-Lahijani [sup.1] [...], Hospital-treated intentional self-poisoning is common. The possibility of changed (increased) suicidal behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic has been raised. To compare frequencies in self-poisoning events (SPEs) and the proportions with in-hospital mortality, in the year prior to and following the official onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a population of hospital-treated self-poisoning patients in Iran. All self-poisoned patients admitted to Loghman-Hakim Hospital, a clinical toxicology specialty hospital in Tehran, were included. The frequency of SPEs was compared between the one-year periods immediately before and after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic using Poisson regression. Differences in proportions of in-hospital mortality were also compared using logistic regression. A total of 14,478 patients with 15,391 SPEs (8,863 [61.2%] females) were evaluated in the study. There was no difference in the overall frequency of SPEs (relative risk [RR] of 0.99 [CI95% 0.96-1.03]), but a small increase in males (RR 1.07; 1.02-1.13) and a minor decrease in females (RR 0.95; 0.91-0.99). In total, 330 patients died (2.3% of all SPEs). There was no difference in overall in-hospital mortality odds ratio (OR: 0.98 [0.79-1.22]), in females (OR = 1.14 [0.80-1.60]) or males (OR = 0.92 [0.69-1.23]). There was no change in the frequency of SPEs and no difference in the in-hospital mortality proportions, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic had little or no effect on these aspects of suicidal behavior in Iran.

Objectives. We aimed to determine the percentage of suicide attempts attributable to individual Axis I and Axis II mental disorders by studying population-attributable fractions (PAFs) in a nationally representative sample. Methods. Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave 2 (NESARC; 2004-2005), a large (N=34653) survey of mental illness in the United States. We used multivariate logistic regression to compare individuals with and without a history of suicide attempt across Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis I disorders (anxiety, mood, psychotic, alcohol, and drug disorders) and all 10 Axis II personality disorders. PAFs were calculated for each disorder. Results. Of the 25 disorders we examined in the model, 4 disorders had notably high PAF values: major depressive disorder (PAF=26.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI]=20.1,33.2), borderline personality disorder (PAF=18.1%; 95% CI=13.4, 23.5), nicotine dependence (PAF=8.4%; 95% CI=3.4, 13.7), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PAF=6.3%; 95% CI=3.2, 10.0). Conclusions. Our results provide new insight into the relationships between mental disorders and suicide attempts in the general population. Although many mental illnesses were associated with an increased likelihood of suicide attempt, elevated rates of suicide attempts were mostly attributed to the presence of 4 disorders. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:2473-2480. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.192252)

The data from the National Survey of American life on the suicidal behavior of 1,170 African American and Caribbean black adolescents aged 13 to 17 shows that black adolescents report having a lifetime prevalence of 7.5 percent for suicidal ideation and 2.7 percent for attempts. The 12-month prevalence of suicidal ideation is 3.2 percent and suicidal attempt stands at 1.4 percent.

This study examined prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and dating partner violence in a cohort of 651 university students in social sciences classes at three universities in Hong Kong. A standard questionnaire was completed within one class period to examine the rates of occurrence of physical assault perpetration and suicidal ideation. Separate rates are presented for male and female perpetrators and for severe and overall levels of violence. The differences between subjects having suicidal ideation are compared using t tests. Logistic regression is used to predict the presence or absence of physical assault in the preceding year of reporting and suicidal ideation based on the variables such as Personal Relationship Profile, age, relationship length, and socioeconomic status. Results showed that 55% of suicidal persons had a history of violence, whereas 39% of violent people had a history of suicidal ideation. Logistic regression showed that physical assault shared a total of seven associated factors with suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation seems to have no direct relation to physical and sexual assault, but they do share some common associated factors that are essential for the development of suicide prevention. Keywords: suicide; dating violence; intimate partner violence; risk factor; Chinese; personality disorder

Background: The political and socio-economic situation in Slovenia, a former Yugoslav republic, a country in transition and a country with a high suicide rate, which joined the European Union in 2004, has changed steadily since the beginning of the 1970s. Literature shows constancy in suicide statistics in Slovenia during these times. Aim: The present study examines whether the suicidal adolescent inpatient population in Slovenia reflects recent social changes and upheavals. Method: Data on two groups of patients admitted to a specialized adolescent psychiatry department after attempting suicide were collected. The first group (n = 74) were patients admitted from 1975 to 1977, the second group (n = 73) from 2002 to 2004. They were compared on general characteristics, family and living circumstances, risk behaviors, suicide attempts and diagnoses. Results: The comparison revealed statistically significant differences between groups on educational level, number of siblings, frequency of smoking and psychoactive medication misuse as well as number of previous suicide attempts. No differences were found in other family and living circumstances, methods used in the index suicide attempt, other risk behaviors or diagnoses. Conclusions: The post-independence suicidal inpatient population in Slovenia shows a tendency towards higher morbidity, but has changed less than expected considering the vast changes in the society. These results suggest a certain constancy in adolescent suicidal behavior. Key words: adolescent, attempted suicide, country in transition, inpatient, risktaking, suicidal behavior

Differences in rates and predictors of mental health service use among 2,226 Black, Hispanic, and White adolescents (aged 12-17) who reported recent suicidal thoughts or an attempt were examined. Black adolescents were 65% (OR = .65, p < .05), and Hispanic adolescents were 55% (OR = .55, p < .001), as likely as White adolescents to report service use, even when controlling for need for care and ability to secure services. Suicide attempt and psychiatric symptoms each interacted with race to increase the odds of service use uniquely for White adolescents. Results indicate that racial disparities characterize adolescents' mental health service use even when suicide risk increases.

This study is part of broader research aimed to determine the lifetime prevalence and pattern of comorbidity on self-reported suicidal attempts in the general population of Iran. Overall, 25,180 subjects were interviewed, face-to-face, at home; the lifetime prevalence was 1.4% (0.9% males and 2% females). The majority of attempters were 26-55 years of age, married, more highly educated, female, retired, and lived in urban areas. Many of the attempters (45.3%) reported at least one psychiatric disorder during their lifetime; major depressive disorder (22%), panic disorder (6.3%), and obsessive compulsive disorder (6%) was the most common. Because less than half of suicidal attempters reported a psychiatric disorder, the existence of other pathways to suicide may be important foci for prevention. Many of the demographic correlates of suicidal behavior in Iran are very similar to those seen in Western cutlures; however, the sociodemographic factors such as few working women and very low levels of divorce is quite different to that of Western populations.

This paper analyzes the variation of suicide by day of the week in alcohol dependence, with public holidays taken into consideration. From 1949 through 1969, 1,312 patients with alcohol dependence were admitted to the Department of Psychiatry in Lund. By 1997, a total of 102 (99 men) alcoholic patients had taken their own life. Suicide victims with severe depression and other diagnoses were compared. There was a suicide peak on the first two days after weekends and holidays in patients with alcohol dependence (p < .05). Alcohol withdrawal is proposed as a contributor to the suicide peak.

This study examined the increase in the rate of suicide by hanging and an apparently simultaneous decrease in the rate of suicide by firearm as hypothetical evidence that Australian males have substituted one method of suicide for another. Trends in hanging and firearm suicide rates were examined from 1975 to 1998 for all Australian males and from 1971 to 1998 for a subset of Australian male youth, as well as a group of Australian males aged over 64 years at the time of their death. When the firearm suicide rate for Australian males declined the hanging rate increased simultaneously, with no statistical difference in the rate of change of the two methods. A similar pattern of simultaneous divergence in hanging and firearm suicide rates of a 15- to 24-year-old subgroup occurred at a not dissimilar rate over a longer time period. Rates of suicide by hanging were found to have begun increasing prior to the decline in firearm suicide. The declining rate of firearm suicide in the 15- to 24-year-old subgroup coincided with an increase in the overall suicide rate. Relationships between trends in hanging and firearm suicide differed between states and between urban and non-urban areas within Queensland, with the firearm suicide rate falling more rapidly in urban areas, especially following the introductions of restrictions to weapon purchases. Individual suicide method choice may be related to independent changes in the social acceptability of each method, as well as to an increasing prevalence of suicide in younger males, who are more likely to use the hanging method. The functioning and effect of social acceptability remains unclear, however. Intervention and prevention strategies should focus on challenging the social acceptability of hanging, especially among males aged 15 to 24 years.

A review of international suicide rates indicates that although youth suicide rates are high, they are lower than rates for the elderly, have increased less dramatically in recent decades, and are higher for boys than for girls. It is argued that the increases in adolescent suicide rates that have occurred in some nations are a result of improved quality of life for adolescents, a factor that leads young people to blame themselves for failure. Keywords: quality of life; international perspective; national suicide rates; adolescent suicide; sex differences

The objectives of the present study were four-fold. First, to determine the lifetime, last year, and 6-month prevalence and demographic correlates of suicidal behavior in a defined population of urban, African American young adults. Second, to determine the degree of mental health service utilization among attempters. Third, to study the comorbidity between mental disorders and suicidal behavior, along with the variation in the numbers and types of psychiatric disorders associated with attempts versus ideation only. Fourth, to examine gender differences in the psychiatric diagnoses associated with attempts and ideation. Data relevant to each of these objectives were gathered through structured interviews of 1,157 economically disadvantaged, African American young adults. Lifetime, last year, and 6-month prevalence rates for attempts were 5.3%, 1.2%, and 0.4%, respectively, whereas the lifetime and 6-month prevalence of ideation were 14% and 1.9%, respectively. Approximately two thirds of those who reported lifetime ideation, and a similar proportion of those who reported lifetime attempts, had a history of at least one lifetime psychiatric disorder. There were no gender differences in terms of the degree of risk for suicidal behavior (ideation or attempts) associated with any of the comorbid psychiatric diagnoses assessed. Despite the severity of most attempts, few attempters received mental health services in their lifetime or at the time of their most recent attempt.

The survey for studying the structure and dynamics of suicide attempts was conducted by presenting statistics of emergency calls in connection with attempted suicides. Results indicate that there is a growing suicidal potential in Russia and that the prevalent uncertain socioeconomic conditions and uncivilized forms of transition to capitalism have led to an ever rising wave of suicide acts.