Suicide Attempts, Neurocognitive Dysfunctions and Clinical Correlates in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Schizophrenia Patients.

Yuanyuan Huang,Ting Li,Caimei Zou,Yangdong Feng,Hehua Li,Kai Wu,Sumiao Zhou,Weijian Guo,Yuping Ning,Fengchun Wu,Xiaoying Zeng,Rui Jiang,Mingzhe Yang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.684653

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a common and complex symptom of schizophrenia that may be related to clinical variables and neurocognitive function. This study aimed to investigate the associated correlates of suicide attempts in Chinese middle-aged and elderly inpatients with schizophrenia, including demographic and clinical characteristics and cognitive level, which has not yet been reported.Methods: A total of 426 schizophrenia inpatients were recruited for this study. Clinical symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Neurocognitive function was measured by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).Results: The prevalence of suicide attempts in middle-aged and elderly Chinese schizophrenia patients was 13.3%. Female patients had a higher suicide rate than male patients. Patients with suicide attempts had significantly higher PANSS-positive subscores, depressive subscores, and RBANS-story recall than non-attempter patients (all p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed that gender, positive subscore, depressive subscore and RBANS-story recall (OR = 1.10–2.19, p < 0.05) were independently associated with suicide attempts in middle-aged and elderly schizophrenia patients.Conclusions: Our study showed that the rate of suicide attempts in Chinese middle-aged and elderly schizophrenia patients is high. Compared to non-attempters, there are less cognitive impairments, more clinical symptoms, and more female patients in the suicide attempters.

Highlights

With the trend of an increased ageing population, the proportion of psychiatric disorders in middle-aged and elderly individuals has significantly increased
Risk factors for suicide attempts in schizophrenia patients are most relevant to demographic variables, clinical characteristics, and some treatment-related variables
Some studies showed that several clinical variables and sociodemographic factors are associated with suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia, but these results are often inconsistent [12], requiring more research

Summary

Introduction

With the trend of an increased ageing population, the proportion of psychiatric disorders in middle-aged and elderly individuals has significantly increased. Risk factors for suicide attempts in schizophrenia patients are most relevant to demographic variables, clinical characteristics, and some treatment-related variables. Ran et al [9] reported that younger age, a higher rate of depressive symptoms, more positive symptoms and a higher level of education were positive factors for suicide attempts in schizophrenia. The age of onset of psychotic symptoms is independently associated with suicidal behaviour [3]. Some studies showed that several clinical variables and sociodemographic factors are associated with suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia, but these results are often inconsistent [12], requiring more research. This study aimed to investigate the associated correlates of suicide attempts in Chinese middle-aged and elderly inpatients with schizophrenia, including demographic and clinical characteristics and cognitive level, which has not yet been reported

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Results

Conclusion