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Suicide in Chronic Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Alec Roy
Alec Roy*
Affiliation:
Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1RB; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
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Summary

A matched controlled study of 30 chronic schizophrenic suicides is presented. Eighty per cent were male and committed suicide at a mean age of 25.8 years after a mean duration of illness of 4.8 years. Significantly more of the suicides had a chronic relapsing schizophrenic illness; 23.3 per cent committed suicide while in-patients, and 50 per cent of the out-patients committed suicide within three months of discharge from in-patient care. Significantly more of the suicides had a past history of depression (56.6 per cent), were depressed in the last episode of contact (53.3 per cent), had their last admission for depression or suicidal ideation (55.2 per cent) and were unemployed (80 per cent).

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 141 , Issue 2 , August 1982 , pp. 171 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1982 

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