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Review
. 2011 Jun;34(2):451-68, ix.
doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2011.02.002.

Suicide in older adults

Affiliations
Review

Suicide in older adults

Yeates Conwell et al. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

This article makes the case that late-life suicide is a cause for great concern that warrants ongoing attention from researchers, health care providers, policy makers, and society at large. It reviews the evidence for factors that place older adults at risk for suicide, or protect them from it. The authors introduce the notion that suicide preventive interventions target individuals or groups at different levels of risk at different points on the developmental trajectory toward death by suicide, offering examples and recommending their strategic, combined application to create an effective, community-level response to the mounting problem of suicide in older adults.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Suicide rates by age, race, and gender in the United States, 2007 (From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010)
Figure 2
Figure 2. 1981-2007, United States suicide rates per 100,000, all races, both sexes (From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010)
Figure 3
Figure 3. The developmental model of late life suicide

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS: Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. [accessed 8/15/2010]; http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/default.htm.
    1. World Health Organization - Mental Health. Suicide prevention (SUPRE) [accessed 8/15/2010]; http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Merck Company Foundation. Witehouse Station, NJ: 2007. The State of Aging and Health in America. www.cdc.gov/aging.
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    1. Conner KR, Conwell Y, Duberstein PR. The validity of proxy-based data in suicide research: a study of patients 50 years of age and older who attempted suicide. II. Life events, social support and suicidal behavior. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2001;104(6):452–457. - PubMed

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