SUICIDE-PREVENTION EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH CLOZAPINE THERAPY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER

Objective and methods: Suicide is a significant cause of death among p atients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, affecting som e 10 to 15 percent of these patients. This study examined annual suici de rates over a two-year period (1993-1995) among more than 30,000 pat ients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder who received ser vices from the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardatio n and suicide rates over a six-year period (1991-1996) among a subgrou p of patients treated with clozapine. Results: The annual suicide rate for all patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder was 63.1 per 100,000 patients, approximately five times higher than in the general population. In contrast, only one suicide occurred in six yea rs among patients treated with clozapine who were of similar diagnosis , age, and sex, for a suicide rate of about 12.7 per 100,000 patients per year. This rate is similar to the 15.7 per 100,000 patients per ye ar for all U.S. patients treated with clozapine, calculated from data reported as of June 1996 to the clozapine national registry system mai ntained by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the U.S. manufacturer of clozapine. Conclusions: The study results suggest that clozapine t herapy is associated with a reduced risk of suicide among patients wit h schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.