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SUICIDES IN NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

T. Talaslahti*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
M. Ginters
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
H. Kautiainen
Affiliation:
Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio Folkhälsan Research Center
R. Vataja
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
A. Palm
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
H. Elonheimo
Affiliation:
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
J. Suvisaari
Affiliation:
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
H. Koponen
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
N. Lindberg
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Helsinki University Hospital Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Depression, anxiety and lack of impulse control are common neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurocognitive disorders and have been strongly associated with suicidality.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to explore suicide rates in three major neuropsychiatric conditions including various degenerative neurocognitive disorders (DND), alcohol related neurocognitive disorders (ARND), and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Methods

The register cohort data of 231 817 patients with a diagnosis of degenerative dementias, ARND, or TBI, and their mortality data were collected from Finnish nationwide registers between 1998 and 2018. We calculated incidences of suicides, types of suicides, and suicide rates compared with the age- and sex matched general population (Standardized Mortality Ratio, SMR).

Results

In fifteen years since diagnosis, 0.3% (95% CI: 0.2 to 0.5) of patients with DND, 1.1% (0.7 to 1.8) of patients with ARND, and 1.0% (0.7 to 1.3) of patients with TBI died from suicide (Figure). Men died from suicide more often than women [58.9 (51.3 to 67.4) vs. 9.8 (7.5 to 12.5) per 100 000 person-years]. Of all three groups of patients, the highest number of suicides per 100 000 was in ARND (98.8; 65.1 to 143.8), then in TBI (82.0; 62.4 to 105.8), and then in DND (21.2; 18.3 to 24.5). The most common cause of death per 100 000 person-years was self-inflicted injury by hanging, strangulation or suffocation and drowning (12.4, 10.3 to 14.8), the second highest incidence self-inflicted poisoning (5.7, 4.3 to 7.4), and then self-inflicted injury by firearms, explosives, smoke, fire, flames, steam, hot vapours or hot objects (4.7, 3.4 to 6.2). The SMRs (95% CI) in the DND group were 1.31 (1.13 to 1.51) for the whole group, 1.21 (0.90-1.62) for women, and 1.34 (1.14-1.58) for men. The SMRs in the ARND group were 3.69 (2.53-5.38), 5.05 (1.90 to 13.46), and 3.52 (2.34 to 5.30), and in the TBI group 2.99 (2.31 to 3.86), 5.68 (3.22 to 10.00), and 2.66 (2.00 to 3.55), respectively.

Image:

Conclusions

Suicide rates were higher in all three patient groups compared with the same-aged general population. Risk for death from suicide remained elevated for more than ten years after the initial diagnosis. Men committed more suicides than women, but there was no difference between sexes in comparison with the age-matched general population. The suicide methods were mostly violent.

Disclosure of Interest

T. Talaslahti Grant / Research support from: Helsinki University Hospital, grant no 212 9003, M. Ginters: None Declared, H. Kautiainen: None Declared, R. Vataja: None Declared, A. Palm: None Declared, H. Elonheimo: None Declared, J. Suvisaari: None Declared, H. Koponen: None Declared, N. Lindberg: None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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