Physical disease and disability among 416 suicide cases in Sweden

Abstract

All suicides occurring among the inhabitants of the County of Uppsala in Sweden between 1977 and 1984 were analyzed on the basis of information from autopsy reports and from somatic and psychiatric medical records. Among the 416 persons who committed suicide, 70 (17%) had a somatic disease of probable importance for the suicidal act. No somatic diagnosis appeared to stand out as being especially associated with a very high risk of suicide. Some diagnoses (e.g. malignant neoplasm, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis) were, however, associated with a suicidal rate above that in the general population. Further knowledge about the relation between suicide and specific somatic diagnoses would be of value, since a high suicide rate in association with a particular illness might indicate insufficient medical care and rehabilitation.