SMOKING AMONG SUICIDE ATTEMPTERS

One hundred suicide attempters, 100 matched controls, and 60 psychiatr ic controls with the same psychiatric disorders as diagnosed in the co rresponding attempters were investigated, Significantly more female at tempters were smokers when compared with the controls, whereas there w as no difference among the males. Consumption of at least 40 and at le ast 50 cigarettes per day was significantly more frequent in female an d male attempters, respectively, than in the controls. Also, the mean number of cigarettes smoked was significantly greater for the attempte r versus the controls, particularly among females. Female attempters w ithout a psychiatric disorder smoked more frequently than the correspo nding controls. Likewise, female attempters with psychiatric disorders smoked more frequently than the psychiatric controls. The etiology of the relationship between smoking and suicide attempts remains uncerta in. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company.