The differences in suicidal behaviors between schizophrenia and mood disorders
Poster B141, Friday, October 21, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Taiju Yamaguchi1, Chiyo Fujii2, Junichi Saito1, Naoyuki Katagiri1, Naohisa Tsujino1, Takahiro Nemoto1, Masafumi Mizuno1; 1Toho University School of Medicine, 2National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Introduction: We reported previously that, in people with schizophrenia whose symptoms were characterized mainly by hallucinations and delusions, suicide ideation progressed more rapidly to a suicide attempt than depressed state of schizophrenia. In this study, we compared the characteristics of suicidal behavior in schizophrenia to those in mood disorders. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with suicide attempters who were hospitalized in the psychiatric ward after care in the Intensive Care Unit. We examined the psychological processes that led them to attempt suicide. Among suicide attempters, there were 20 patients with schizophrenia (the schizophrenia group; 12 men, 25–61 years old) and 18 patients with mood disorders (the mood disorders group; 14 men, 21–63 years old). Differences between the two groups were subsequently analyzed by t-test and chi-square test. This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethical Research Committee of Toho University School of Medicine. Results: The schizophrenia group showed significantly younger onset, longer period from onset to suicidal behavior, higher unmarried and unemployed rates, and used more destructive suicidal behavior compared to the mood disorder group, such as jumping in front of an oncoming train.There was no significant difference in the period from appearance of suicidal ideation to suicide attempt. Discussion: Quantitative data analysis showed no difference in the period from appearance of suicidal ideation to suicide attempt between the two groups. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously considering the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. Qualitative analysis is necessary to understand the characteristics of suicidal behavior in schizophre
Topic Area: Psychosocial Interventions