Substance dependence and inpatient suicide - A description

Objective: The research group "Suicide and Psychiatric Hospital" has studie d inpatient suicides in psychiatric hospitals in Baden-Wurttemberg and Bava ria (Germany) from 1970-1996. Whereas suicides in depression and schizophre nia are described very well, a description of addicted inpatients who commi ted suicide is still missing. Patients and Methods: We studied the data of substance dependent patients of the collective of 726 inpatient suicides. R esults and Conclusions: Among the generally rare suicides of addicted inpat iens - 33 of 726 - about 81% were alcohol dependent. The frequency of suici de in this group of patients decreased from 6.7% in the years 1970-1984 to 1.4% between 1990 and 1996. Whereas the age remained more or less stable in the middle of the fifth decade, the time from hospitalisation until suicid e shortened from 192 days (mean) to 52 days. Suicide of alcohol dependent a nd poly-drug-abusing patients today almost exclusively takes place during t reatment on an open station and among patients being in treatment on a volu ntary basis. Suicide attempts in the anamnesis are extraordinarily rare in alcohol dependent suiciders.