SUICIDE RATES IN A GENERAL PSYCHIATRIC-CA RE SYSTEM

Reduction of the elevated suicide rates in psychiatric patients remain s an important aim of psychiatric treatment. There has been an ongoing discussion on the question of whether the increased tendency to trans fer long-term psychiatric patients from inpatient care to community ps ychiatric care might go along with increased suicide rates. In our com munity care system we found an age- and sex-adjusted suicide rate 40 t imes as high as in the general population in the period between 1973 a nd 1993. Within the first 4 years suicide rates were significantly ele vated. All suicides had the diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia or schi zoaffective psychosis. In the non-schizophrenic group no suicide occur red during treatment. Our study shows that in community psychiatric ca re suicide rates in schizophrenic patients are significantly increased whereas suicide rates in non-schizophrenic patients may be decreased.