Psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors for suicide - Case-control psychological autopsy study

Background Few studies of suicide have simultaneously examined the individu al and combined effects of psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors. Aims To dose in a representative sample of suicides. Method Acase-control psychological autopsy was conducted among 113 consecut ive suicides and 226 living controls matched for age, gender, ethnicity and area of residence in Taiwan. Results Five major risk factors (loss event, suicidal behaviour in first-de gree relatives, ICD-10 major depressive episode, emotionally unstable perso nality disorder and substance dependence) were round to have independent ef fects on suicide from multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis . Conclusions Effective intervention and management for loss event and major depressive episode among emotionally unstable subjects with a family tenden cy of suicidal behaviour, frequently also comorbid with alcohol or other su bstance dependence, may prove to be most effective for suicide prevention i n different populations.