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The mental and physical health profile of people who died by suicide: findings from the Suicide Support and Information System

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Abstract

Purpose

There is limited research on the associations between factors relating to mental and physical health in people who died by suicide.

Methods

Consecutive suicide cases were included in a psychological autopsy study as part of the Suicide Support and Information System in southern Ireland. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were used to examine factors associated with recorded presence or absence of mental and physical health problems.

Results

The total sample comprised 307 suicide cases, the majority being male (80.1%). Sixty-five percent had a history of self-harm and 34.6% of these cases had not been seen or treated following previous self-harm, although most (80.3%) had a history of recent GP attendance. Mental health diagnoses were present in 84.8% of cases where this variable was documented, and among these, 60.7% had a history of substance misuse and 30.6% had physical health problems. Variables associated with mental illness included gender, older age, previous self-harm episode(s), and presence of drugs in toxicology at time of death. Variables associated with physical illness included older age, death by means other than hanging, and previous self-harm episode(s).

Conclusions

Different factors associated with suicide were identified among people with mental and physical illness and those with and without a diagnosis, and need to be taken into account in suicide prevention. The identified factors highlight the importance of integrated care for dual-diagnosis presentations, restricting access to means, and early recognition and intervention for people with high-risk self-harm.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the valuable collaboration with the Coroners, health and mental health professionals in Cork City and County. We would like to express our gratitude to the bereaved family members who provided valuable input into the research by their involvement in the psychological autopsy interviews.

Funding

This work was supported by the Health Research Board (HRA-2013-phr-438) and the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, North Lee North, Unit 9, St Stephen’s Hospital, Glanmire, Cork, Ireland

    Daniel Leahy

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Celine Larkin

  3. School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, 4.28 Western Gateway Building, Cork, Ireland

    Dorothy Leahy, Paul Corcoran & Ella Arensman

  4. National Suicide Research Foundation, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Dorothy Leahy, Paul Corcoran, Eileen Williamson & Ella Arensman

  5. St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Cork, Ireland

    Carmel McAuliffe

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  1. Daniel Leahy
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  2. Celine Larkin
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  3. Dorothy Leahy
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  4. Carmel McAuliffe
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  5. Paul Corcoran
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  7. Ella Arensman
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Correspondence to Ella Arensman.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was granted by the Social Research Ethics Subcommittee of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cork University Teaching Hospitals, and by the Coroners Society of Ireland. Informed consent was obtained from all participating relatives. All information obtained was recorded in secure and anonymized databases at the headquarters of the NSRF. Confidentiality was strictly maintained. The NSRF is registered with the Data Protection Agency (http://www.dataprotection.ie) and complies with the Irish Data Protection Act of 1988 and the Irish Data Protection (Amendment) Act of 2003. Only anonymized data are released in aggregate form in reports. The names and addresses of patients were not recorded.

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Leahy, D., Larkin, C., Leahy, D. et al. The mental and physical health profile of people who died by suicide: findings from the Suicide Support and Information System. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 55, 1525–1533 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01911-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01911-y

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