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Evaluation of Elderly Suicide Characteristics in Turkish Population

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 1 - 5, 01.04.2023

Abstract

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate social and psychiatric characteristics of elderly suicide and examine demographic data, and determine possible risk factors.
Patients and methods: Autopsy reports of forensic deaths due to suicide between 2010-2021 years of age 65 and older were retrospectively analyzed. The data were statistically compared by gender, type of suicide, time of suicide, and place of death. In addition, whether the spouses of these cases were alive, with whom they lived, their history of psychiatric illness, history of psychological trauma, and whether there was a previous suicide attempt were evaluated according to gender.
Results: In the study, which included 44 cases, 75% of the cases were male (n:33); 25% were women (n:11). Most of the Suicide cases occurred in autumn (34.1%), were indoors (72.7%) and were during the daytime (79.5%). The most suicide pattern was hanging for both groups. 54.5% of all cases had a history of psychiatric illness. It was the first suicide attempt in 81.8% of the cases. No statistically significant difference was found between male and female genders for all these parameters.
Conclusion: We think that suicide attempts and suicide-related elderly mortality rates can be reduced if protective and preventive measures are taken in geriatric age groups by gender, taking into account the suicide risk factors and the methods used.

References

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) 2003. [Cited: 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html
  • Huang S, Lewis MO, Bao Y, Adekkanattu P, Adkins LE, Banerjee S, et al. Predictive Modeling for Suicide-Related Outcomes and Risk Factors among Patients with Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2022;11(16):4813.
  • Garand L, Mitchell AM, Dietrick A, Hijjawi SP, Pan D. Suicide in older adults: nursing assessment of suicide risk. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2006;27(4):355-70.
  • Fiske A, Wetherell JL, Gatz M. Depression in older adults. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2009;5:363-89.
  • Neufeld E, O'Rourke N. Impulsivity and hopelessness as predictors of suicide-related ideation among older adults. Can J Psychiatry. 2009;54(10):684-92.
  • Song SJ, Park GJ, Lee JH, Kim SC, Kim H, Lee SW. The Characteristics of Elderly Individuals Who Attempted Suicide by Poisoning: a Nationwide Cross-sectional Study in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2020;35(35):e286.
  • Gramaglia C, Martelli M, Scotti L, Bestagini L, Gambaro E, Romero M, et al. Attempted Suicide in the Older Adults: A Case Series From the Psychiatry Ward of the University Hospital Maggiore Della Carità, Novara, Italy. Front Public Health. 2022;9:732284.
  • Chattun MR, Amdanee N, Zhang X, Yao Z. Suicidality in the geriatric population. Asian J Psychiatr. 2022;75:103213.
  • De Leo D, Giannotti AV. Suicide in late life: A viewpoint. Prev Med. 2021;152(Pt 1):106735.
  • Almeida OP, Draper B, Snowdon J, Lautenschlager NT, Pirkis J, Byrne G, et al. Factors associated with suicidal thoughts in a large community study of older adults. Br J Psychiatry. 2012;201(6):466-72.
  • Shah A. The relationship between elderly suicide rates and different components of education: a cross-national study. J Inj Violence Res. 2012;4(2):52-7.
  • Wiktorsson S, Strömsten L, Renberg ES, Runeson B, Waern M. Clinical Characteristics in Older, Middle-Aged and Young Adults Who Present With Suicide Attempts at Psychiatric Emergency Departments: A Multisite Study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022;30(3):342-51.
  • Chai Y, Luo H, Man KKC, Lau WCY, Chan SKW, Yip PSF, et al. Antidepressant use and risk of self-harm among people aged 40 years or older: A population-based cohort and self-controlled case series study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2022;27:100557.
  • Rahme E, Dasgupta K, Turecki G, Nedjar H, Galbaud du Fort G. Risks of suicide and poisoning among elderly patients prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: a retrospective cohort study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(3):349-57.
  • Joshaghani N, Villa N, Badla O, Goit R, Saddik SE, Dawood SN, et al. How Residing in a Long-Term Care Facility Affects Suicidal Risk in Patients With Dementia: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2022;14(8):e27858.
  • Chou PH, Wang SC, Wu CS, Horikoshi M, Ito M. A machine-learning model to predict suicide risk in Japan based on national survey data. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:918667.
  • Sher L. Post-COVID syndrome and suicide risk. QJM. 2021;114(2):95-8.
  • Conejero I, Olié E, Courtet P, Calati R. Suicide in older adults: current perspectives. Clin Interv Aging. 2018;13:691-9.
  • Corcoran P, Reulbach U, Perry IJ, Arensman E. Suicide and deliberate self harm in older Irish adults. Int Psychogeriatr. 2010;22(8):1327-36.
  • Murphy E, Kapur N, Webb R, Purandare N, Hawton K, Bergen H, et al. Risk factors for repetition and suicide following self-harm in older adults: multicentre cohort study. Br J Psychiatry. 2012;200(5):399-404.
  • Kim KA, Kim YE, Yoon SJ. Descriptive epidemiology on the trends and sociodemographic risk factors of disease burden in years of life lost due to suicide in South Korea from 2000 to 2018. BMJ Open. 2021;11(2):e043662.
  • Terranova C, Sartore D. Suicide and psychiatrist's liability in Italian law cases. J Forensic Sci. 2013;58(2):523-6.
  • Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0800-01: Deaths and Mortality Rate (Age Standardization Using 2011 Population), by Selected Grouped Causes. [Cited: 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25318/1310080001-eng.
  • Wilson MM, Pollock NJ, Power ND, Karaivanov Y, Mulay S, Reccord C. Sex differences in suicide mortality in Newfoundland and Labrador: An observational study with medical examiner data from 1997 to 2016. Health Rep. 2022;33(8):31-8.

Türk Toplumunda Yaşlı İntihar Özelliklerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 1 - 5, 01.04.2023

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmada yaşlı intiharlarının sosyal ve psikiyatrik özelliklerinin araştırılması, demografik verilerin incelenmesi ve olası risk faktörlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Hasta ve yöntemler: 2010-2021 yılları arasında 65 yaş ve üzeri intihara bağlı adli ölümlerin otopsi raporları geriye dönük olarak incelendi. Veriler cinsiyet, intihar türü, intihar zamanı ve ölüm yerine göre istatistiksel olarak karşılaştırıldı. Ayrıca bu olguların eşlerinin hayatta olup olmadığı, kiminle yaşadığı, psikiyatrik hastalık öyküsü, psikolojik travma öyküsü ve daha önce intihar girişimi olup olmadığı cinsiyetlere göre değerlendirildi.
Bulgular: 44 olgunun yer aldığı çalışmada olguların %75'i erkek (n:33); %25'i kadındı (n:11). İntihar vakalarının çoğu sonbaharda (%34,1), kapalı mekanlarda (%72,7) ve gündüz (%79,5) meydana geldi. Her iki grup için de en fazla intihar yöntemi asıydı. Tüm olguların %54.5'inde psikiyatrik hastalık öyküsü vardı. Vakaların %81.8'inde ilk intihar girişimiydi. Tüm bu parametreler için kadın ve erkek cinsiyetler arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark bulunmadı.
Sonuç: Cinsiyete göre geriatrik yaş gruplarında intihar risk faktörleri ve kullanılan yöntemler dikkate alınarak koruyucu ve önleyici tedbirler alınırsa intihar girişimleri ve intihara bağlı yaşlı ölüm oranlarının azaltılabileceğini düşünüyoruz.

References

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) 2003. [Cited: 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html
  • Huang S, Lewis MO, Bao Y, Adekkanattu P, Adkins LE, Banerjee S, et al. Predictive Modeling for Suicide-Related Outcomes and Risk Factors among Patients with Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2022;11(16):4813.
  • Garand L, Mitchell AM, Dietrick A, Hijjawi SP, Pan D. Suicide in older adults: nursing assessment of suicide risk. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2006;27(4):355-70.
  • Fiske A, Wetherell JL, Gatz M. Depression in older adults. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2009;5:363-89.
  • Neufeld E, O'Rourke N. Impulsivity and hopelessness as predictors of suicide-related ideation among older adults. Can J Psychiatry. 2009;54(10):684-92.
  • Song SJ, Park GJ, Lee JH, Kim SC, Kim H, Lee SW. The Characteristics of Elderly Individuals Who Attempted Suicide by Poisoning: a Nationwide Cross-sectional Study in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2020;35(35):e286.
  • Gramaglia C, Martelli M, Scotti L, Bestagini L, Gambaro E, Romero M, et al. Attempted Suicide in the Older Adults: A Case Series From the Psychiatry Ward of the University Hospital Maggiore Della Carità, Novara, Italy. Front Public Health. 2022;9:732284.
  • Chattun MR, Amdanee N, Zhang X, Yao Z. Suicidality in the geriatric population. Asian J Psychiatr. 2022;75:103213.
  • De Leo D, Giannotti AV. Suicide in late life: A viewpoint. Prev Med. 2021;152(Pt 1):106735.
  • Almeida OP, Draper B, Snowdon J, Lautenschlager NT, Pirkis J, Byrne G, et al. Factors associated with suicidal thoughts in a large community study of older adults. Br J Psychiatry. 2012;201(6):466-72.
  • Shah A. The relationship between elderly suicide rates and different components of education: a cross-national study. J Inj Violence Res. 2012;4(2):52-7.
  • Wiktorsson S, Strömsten L, Renberg ES, Runeson B, Waern M. Clinical Characteristics in Older, Middle-Aged and Young Adults Who Present With Suicide Attempts at Psychiatric Emergency Departments: A Multisite Study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022;30(3):342-51.
  • Chai Y, Luo H, Man KKC, Lau WCY, Chan SKW, Yip PSF, et al. Antidepressant use and risk of self-harm among people aged 40 years or older: A population-based cohort and self-controlled case series study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2022;27:100557.
  • Rahme E, Dasgupta K, Turecki G, Nedjar H, Galbaud du Fort G. Risks of suicide and poisoning among elderly patients prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: a retrospective cohort study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(3):349-57.
  • Joshaghani N, Villa N, Badla O, Goit R, Saddik SE, Dawood SN, et al. How Residing in a Long-Term Care Facility Affects Suicidal Risk in Patients With Dementia: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2022;14(8):e27858.
  • Chou PH, Wang SC, Wu CS, Horikoshi M, Ito M. A machine-learning model to predict suicide risk in Japan based on national survey data. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:918667.
  • Sher L. Post-COVID syndrome and suicide risk. QJM. 2021;114(2):95-8.
  • Conejero I, Olié E, Courtet P, Calati R. Suicide in older adults: current perspectives. Clin Interv Aging. 2018;13:691-9.
  • Corcoran P, Reulbach U, Perry IJ, Arensman E. Suicide and deliberate self harm in older Irish adults. Int Psychogeriatr. 2010;22(8):1327-36.
  • Murphy E, Kapur N, Webb R, Purandare N, Hawton K, Bergen H, et al. Risk factors for repetition and suicide following self-harm in older adults: multicentre cohort study. Br J Psychiatry. 2012;200(5):399-404.
  • Kim KA, Kim YE, Yoon SJ. Descriptive epidemiology on the trends and sociodemographic risk factors of disease burden in years of life lost due to suicide in South Korea from 2000 to 2018. BMJ Open. 2021;11(2):e043662.
  • Terranova C, Sartore D. Suicide and psychiatrist's liability in Italian law cases. J Forensic Sci. 2013;58(2):523-6.
  • Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0800-01: Deaths and Mortality Rate (Age Standardization Using 2011 Population), by Selected Grouped Causes. [Cited: 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25318/1310080001-eng.
  • Wilson MM, Pollock NJ, Power ND, Karaivanov Y, Mulay S, Reccord C. Sex differences in suicide mortality in Newfoundland and Labrador: An observational study with medical examiner data from 1997 to 2016. Health Rep. 2022;33(8):31-8.
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Health Care Administration
Journal Section Makale
Authors

Abdullah Avşar 0000-0001-9467-9349

Publication Date April 1, 2023
Acceptance Date March 16, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 8 Issue: 2

Cite

Vancouver Avşar A. Evaluation of Elderly Suicide Characteristics in Turkish Population. JAMER. 2023;8(2):1-5.