Risk factors for suicidal behavior in older adults

Abstract

Background. Geriatric population is growing rapidly around the world. Suicidal behavior in older adults is an actual concern in both the public health and socio-economic field. The cause of suicidal behavior is represented by the interaction of biopsychosocial factors, the study of which is necessary for the development of programs for the prevention of suicidal behavior in older adults. The objective of this review is: to provide actual information of suicidal mortality in Russian Federation, to analyze the terminology describing auto-aggressive behavior, to consider the factors of suicidal risk and protective factors in older adults. Materials and methods. An extensive search was conducted on the following databases: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, https:// www.sciencedirect.com, https://www.scopus.com/search/form.uri, https://scholar.google.ru, https://cyberleninka.ru/. The number of cited sources — 65. Results: the literature review showed that the Russian Federation is one of the countries with an unfavorable suicidological situation. Suicide rates are higher among older adults compared to other age groups. This trend is typical for both sexes, but more pronounced in men. Among the elderly, the most important are risk factors associated with barriers to health care, stigma and discrimination, access to means of suicide, and abuse. The majority of older adults who attempt or die by suicide suffer from affective disorders, in the structure of which the symptoms of depression and anxiety are of particular importance. The presence of a physical illness, chronic pain syndrome, functional impairment and a feeling of helplessness significantly increase the suicidal risk, especially in combination with depression. Suicidal risk factors and protective factors have their own characteristics in the group under consideration, therefore, when developing prevention programs, older adults should be considered as a separate age risk group. Conclusion. The article presents a systematic review of scientific medical literature on the problem of suicidal behavior in older adults.