Age-related patterns of symptom presentation may complicate the recognition
of suicide risk. The authors sought to determine whether there is a relati
onship between age and reported suicidal ideation in depressed suicide atte
mpters (DSAs) and depressed nonattempters (DNs) 50 years of age and over Re
gression analyses revealed that increasing age is significantly associated
with the absence of suicidal ideation in both DSAs and DNs. Because of thei
r lower rates of depressed mood and suicidal ideation, the depressions of o
lder adults may more readily escape detection. Preventive or treatment meas
ures initiated after the onset of the suicidal state may be insufficient, a
nd other preventive strategies ought to be considered.