Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2012) 47:419–425 DOI 10.1007/s00127-011-0343-2 ORIGINAL PAPER Suicidality related to first-time admissions to psychiatric hospital

• Main Authors: Terje Øiesvold, Tony Bakkejord, Vidje Hansen, Mary Nivison, Knut W. Sørgaard, T. Øiesvold, T. Bakkejord K. W. Sørgaard, V. Hansen, K. W. Sørgaard, M. Nivison
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Norway; Northern Norway
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.271.9993

Background The epidemiology of suicidality shows considerable variation across sites. However, one of the strongest predictors of suicide is a suicidal attempt. Knowledge of the epidemiology of suicidal ideas and attempts in the general population as well as in the health care system is of importance for designing preventive strategies. In this study, we will explore the role of the psychiatric hospital in suicide prevention by investigating treated incidence of suicidal ideation and attempt, and further, discern whether sociodemographic, clinical and service utilization factors differ between these two groups at admission. Methods The study was a prospective cohort study on treated incidence in a 1-year period and 12-month followup. The two psychiatric hospitals in northern Norway, serving a population of about 500,000 people, participated in the study. A total of 676 first-time admissions were retrospectively checked for suicidality at the time of admission. A study sample of 168 patients was found eligible for logistic regression analysis to elucidate the risk profiles of suicidal ideators versus suicidal attempters. GAF, HoNOS and SCL-90-R were used to assess symptomatology at baseline.