Intentos de suicidio y suicidios consumados por los ancianos de una residencia

Abstract

AimLongitudinal retrospective study of all suicide attempts and suicides among elderly residents of a long-term-care facility. MethodsThe medical records of 938 elderly individuals living in the facility between December 1984 and March 2001 were studied. Data of frequency, medical and psychiatric variables, and the circumstances in which the suicides or suicide attempts took place were analyzed. ResultsThe mean age of subjects at the end of the study was 80.9 years, and their mean length of stay was 1716 days. Four hundred forty-five subjects (47.4%) died during the study period. There were nine suicides (five men and four women), accounting for 2% of total deaths and a rate of 204.2 suicides per 100 000 persons/year. The nine elderly individuals who committed suicide had a prior psychiatric diagnosis; all but one died by throwing themselves from a height, and four had made prior attempts. One individual left notes to a judge. Suicide attempts were noted in five other elderly individuals, one of whom had made four previous attempts. Four of these five subjects endured incapacitating physical conditions. ConclusionsSuicide is a relatively frequent cause of death in long-term care facilities, and the rate of successful attempts is high, especially in elderly individuals with a previous psychiatric diagnosis. The ratio of unsuccessful to successful attempts is close to 1:1. Health care personnel in such facilities could possibly participate in suicide prevention programs.