Risks of Mortality of Suicide Attempters Compared with Psychiatric and General Populations

This study compares mortality risk among suicide attempters, psychiatric patients, and members of the general population using demographic data from the Monroe County (New York) Psychiatric Case Register for 1960 to 1970. During this 11-year period there were 172 deaths reported for the suicide attempt group, 6, 108 for the Psychiatric Register population, and 58,542 for the general population. The relative risk of death from all causes of the suicide attempt group was nearly twice that of the general population and slightly higher than that of the psychiatric group. High risks of mortality were differentially associated with several demographic and treatment variables. Implications for predictive criteria and interventive strategies are discussed.