Pacienti s psihično motnjo med žrtvami samomora v različnih časovnih obdobjih

Abstract

Background:
Suicide is an important public health problem. The aim of the present study was to evaluate shares of suicide victims with mental disorders over selected time periods. Methods: All the suicide victims autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Ljubljana between January the 1st 2000 and December the 31st 2007 were included in our retrospective study. We surveyed all the autopsy reports and other medical documentation in the reports from this time period and gathered data about mental diseases, substance abuse of the suicide victims and psychiatric in-patients suicides. We formed groups of suicide victims with or without mental disease or substance abuse and a group of psychiatric in-patients with completed suicide and compared them according to selected periods from year 2000 to year 2007 (2000-2001; 2002-2003; 2004-2005; 2006-2007).
Results:
Among selected periods shares of suicide victims in the group of victims with mental disease (36,0% vs. 10,3% vs. 34,3% vs. 34,8%), and in the group of victims with substance abuse (11,8% vs. 25,8% vs. 9,5% vs. 6,7%), and in the group of other victims of suicide (52,2% vs. 36,9% vs. 56,2% vs. 58,5%) were statistically different (p < 0,001; χ2 = 67,442; df = 6). Analysis of the group of suicide victims with mental disease or substance abuse (48,1% vs. 35,8% vs. 38,0% vs. 38,7%), and the group of suicide victims among psychiatric in-patients (5,5% vs. 1,7% vs. 6,2% vs. 3,6%), and group of other suicide victims (46,4% vs. 62,5% vs. 55,8% vs. 57,6%), showed statistic difference among groups in selected periods (p < 0,05; χ2 = 14,019; df = 6).
Conclusions:
It seems that share of suicide victims with mental disorder change over time. However, further research is needed to evaluate factors associated with observed variations.