Relative Risk of Mental Disorders and Suicidal Attempts: a Study of suicide Attempters Presented at Ain Shams University Hospital, Psychiatry Department, Cairo

Abstract

Suicide rates have continued to rise in recent decades. Suicide still is an under researched area in Egypt. A one- and half -year study of 120 suicide attempts in a psychiatric hospital tested the generalizability of risk factors for suicidal acts across diagnostic boundaries. Subjects were subjected to the Suicide Intent Scale, SCIDI, SCID-II, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Suicide Probability Scale and Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Results showed that persons at risk are characterized by being younger, single, and unemployed. The most common method used was self-poisoning, with 35% of suicide attempters had made previous suicide attempts (SAs). By comparing every single disorder with other mental disorders, significant differences emerged regarding specific risk factors defining suicide attempters of each diagnosis. Different suicide preventive measurements should be taken according to the special characteristics of each group. Keywords: suicide · suicide attempts · impulsivity ·Mental disorders · relative risk· Schizophrenia · major depression