Attempted and completed suicide in older subjects: results from the WHO/EURO Multicentre study of suicidal behaviour

Objective The authors present an analysis of findings for the 65 years and over age group from the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study of Suicidal Behaviour (1 989-93). Methods Multinational data on non-fatal suicidal behaviour is derived from 1518 subjects in 16 European centres. Local district data on suicide were a vailable from IO of the collaborating centres. Results Stockholm (Sweden), Pontoise (France) and Oxford (UK) had the highe st suicide attempts rates. In most centres, the majority of elderly who att empted suicide were widow(er)s, often living alone, who used predominantly voluntary drug ingestion. Non-fatal suicidal behaviour decreased with incre asing age, whereas suicide rates rose. The ratio between fatal and non-fata l behaviours was 1:2, that for males/females almost 1:1. In the years consi dered, substantial stability in suicide and attempted suicide rates was obs erved. As their age increased, suicidal subjects displayed only a limited t endency to repeat self-destructive acts. Moreover, there was little correla tion between attempted suicide and suicide rates, which carries different c linical implications for non-fatal suicidal behaviour in the elderly compar ed with younger subjects in the same WHO/EURO study. Copyright (C) 2001 Joh n Wiley & Sons, Ltd.