Correlates of suicidal ideation among an elderly depressed sample

Lynch, Thomas R., Johnson, Courtney S., Mendelson, Tamar, Robins, Clive J., Krishnan, K.Ranga R. and Blazer, Dan G. (1999) Correlates of suicidal ideation among an elderly depressed sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 56 (1), 9-15. (doi:10.1016/S0165-0327(99)00022-1). (PMID:10626775)

Abstract

Background: suicidal ideation has been shown to be strongly associated with suicide completion and elders take their own lives more than any other age group.

Methods: the present study examined clinical and phenomenological correlates of suicidal ideation among an elderly sample (n=167) derived from subjects enrolled in the Duke Clinical Research Center for the Study of Depression in Late Life.

Results: bivariate results indicated that clinical variables associated with psychomotor retardation, a history of dysthymia, a previous psychiatric in-patient stay, and being a ‘younger’ elder were related to greater suicidal ideation. Multivariate analyses indicated that feeling guilty, sinful, or worthless was associated with over six times greater odds of having suicidal thoughts.

Limitations: findings are based on correlational analyses, and thus, the direction of causality cannot be inferred. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for clinicians of some of the ‘red flags’ associated with the presence of suicidal ideation among depressed older adults

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Contributors

Author: Thomas R. Lynch

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