Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Mar 16;12(3):e0173958.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173958. eCollection 2017.

Predictors of suicide in the patient population admitted to a locked-door psychiatric acute ward

Roar Fosse  1 , Wenche Ryberg  1 , Merete Kvalsvik Carlsson  1 , Jan Hammer  1
Affiliations

Predictors of suicide in the patient population admitted to a locked-door psychiatric acute ward

Roar Fosse et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: No prior study appears to have focused on predictors of suicide in the general patient population admitted to psychiatric acute wards. We used a case-control design to investigate the association between suicide risk factors assessed systematically at admission to a locked-door psychiatric acute ward in Norway and subsequent death by suicide.

Method: From 2008 to 2013, patients were routinely assessed for suicide risk upon admission to the acute ward with a 17-item check list based on recommendations from the Norwegian Directorate of Health and Social Affairs. Among 1976 patients admitted to the ward, 40 patients, 22 men and 18 women, completed suicide within December 2014.

Results: Compared to a matched control group (n = 120), after correction for multiple tests, suicide completers scored significantly higher on two items on the check list: presence of suicidal thoughts and wishing to be dead. An additional four items were significant in non-corrected tests: previous suicide attempts, continuity of suicidal thoughts, having a suicide plan, and feelings of hopelessness, indifference, and/or aggression. A brief scale based on these six items was the only variable associated with suicide in multivariate regression analysis, but its predictive value was poor.

Conclusion: Suicide specific ideations may be the most central risk markers for suicide in the general patient population admitted to psychiatric acute wards. However, a low predictive value may question the utility of assessing suicide risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Elapsed time from discharge from the psychiatric acute ward to suicide in 40 patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Harris EC, Barraclough B (1997) Suicide as an outcome for mental disorders. A meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry 170: 205–228. - PubMed
    1. Blair-West GW, Cantor CH, Mellsop GW, Eyeson-Annan ML (1999) Lifetime suicide risk in major depression: sex and age determinants. J Affect Disord 55: 171–178. - PubMed
    1. Inskip HM, Harris EC, Barraclough B (1998) Lifetime risk of suicide for affective disorder, alcoholism and schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 172: 35–37. - PubMed
    1. Kapur N, Hunt IM, Windfuhr K, Rodway C, Webb R, Rahman MS, et al. (2013) Psychiatric in-patient care and suicide in England, 1997 to 2008: a longitudinal study. Psychol Med 43: 61–71. 10.1017/S0033291712000864 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Reutfors J, Brandt L, Ekbom A, Isacsson G, Sparen P, Osby U (2010) Suicide and hospitalization for mental disorders in Sweden: a population-based case-control study. J Psychiatr Res 44: 741–747. 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.02.003 - DOI - PubMed