Consummated suicide in Gran Canaria in the period 2017–2022, and its relationship with a history of mental disorder

Abstract

IntroductionSuicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Due to the relationship between suicidal behaviour and mental disorder, our aim is to determine the number of people who received care by the Mental Health Network among the total number of suicides consummated between 2017 and 2022 in Gran Canaria, as well as the characteristics of that population and the care received. Material and methodsLongitudinal observational retrospective study in which the study population was extracted from the total number of suicides in the database of the Legal Medicine Institute. Subsequently, the data were cross-checked by the Mental Health Network databases. Finally, a univariate statistical analysis was carried out and the results were compared according to sex and care in the Community Mental Health Unit. ResultsOnly 39.4% had received care at the Mental Health Unit, the majority being women (55.3% vs. 34.6%), with a mean age of 50.9 years for both sexes. History of previous attempts was much more frequent in the population receiving care (45.4% vs. 7%), as well as emergency care (42% vs. 5.7%) and hospital admissions (25.3% vs. 0.7%). ConclusionLess than half of the deceased persons had contact with a Community Mental Health Unit. In addition, care by this unit was higher among those with previous attempts and among the female sex, with the most frequent diagnosis being monopolar affective disorders.