RECENT LIFE EVENTS AND COMPLETED SUICIDE IN BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE-DISORDER - A COMPARISON WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE SUICIDES

While recent psychosocial stress has been shown to be associated with the initiation of both first and subsequent illness episodes in bipola r affective disorder, its relationship to completed suicide in bipolar disorder is not known. As a part of a nationwide psychological autops y study, two populations representing all suicides in Finland in DSM-I II-R bipolar disorder or unipolar major depression were comprehensivel y examined and compared. Recent life events were retrospectively exami ned by interviewing next of kin using a 32-item Recent Life Change Que stionnaire. Life event data was available on 25 bipolar and 56 unipola r cases. In about two-thirds of both bipolar (64%) and unipolar (66%) victims, at least one life event was reported to have occurred during the last 3 months and in 42% of both groups during the final week. The events of bipolar victims were more commonly classified as possibly d ependent on their own behaviour (bipolars 88% vs. unipolars 63%, P = 0 .004). Among bipolars, more males than females had had recent life eve nts (males 86% vs. females 37%, P = 0.03). The majority of completed s uicides in both bipolar and unipolar affective disorders seem to be as sociated with recent psychosocial stress; however, the stressors are c ommonly likely to be dependent on the victim's behaviour.