Centre for Policy on Ageing



Psychiatric disorder and personality factors associated with suicide in older people — a descriptive and case-control study
Author(s)	Daniel Harwood, Keith Hawton, Tony Hope
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 16, no 2, February 2001
Pages	pp 155-165
Keywords	Suicide ; Mental disorder ; Personality disorders ; Personality ; Midlands [England].
Annotation	Data was collected on a consecutive series of people aged 60 and over in who had died by suicide in four counties and one large urban area in Central England between January 1995 and May 1998, and compared with a control group of people dying through natural causes during the same time period. Depression was confirmed as the most important psychiatric risk factor for suicide. Abnormal personality traits, especially of the anakastic (obsessional) and anxious types, are also predictors of suicide in older people. This highlights the importance of assessment of premorbid personality when assessing suicide risk in older people. The study provided no evidence of risk factors such as alcohol abuse, psychotic disorders, and cognitive impairment contributing to suicide. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010227222 A
Classmark	EV: E: EK: DK: 82X
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.