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Cited by 200Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchHomicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse

Hospital-diagnosed dementia and suicide: a longitudinal study using prospective, nationwide register data

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Erlangsen, Annette, Zarit, Steven H., Conwell, Yeates·2008·The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
DOI 10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181602a12PMC PMC3775593
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Abstract

Objective The current study aims to examine the risk of suicide in persons diagnosed with dementia during a hospitalization and its relationship to mood disorders.Design Event-history analysis using time-varying covariates.Setting Population-based record linkage.Participants All individuals aged 50+ living in Denmark (N=2,474,767) during January 1, 1990 through December 31, 2000.Measurements Outcome of interest is suicide. Relative risks are calculated based on person-days spent in each stratum.Results A total of 18,648,875 person-years were observed during the 11-year study period. During this period, 136 persons who previously had been diagnosed with dementia died by suicide. Men and women aged 50-69 years with hospital presentations of dementia have a relative suicide risk of 8.5 (95% confidence interval: 6.3-11.3) and 10.8 (95% confidence interval: 7.4-15.7), respectively. Those who are aged 70 or older with dementia have a threefold higher risk than persons with no dementia. The time shortly after diagnosis is associated with an elevated suicide risk. The risk among persons with dementia remains significant when controlling for mood disorders. As many as 26% of the men and 14% of the women who died by suicide died within the first 3 months after being diagnosed whereas 38% of the men and 41% of the women died more than 3 years after initial dementia diagnosis.Conclusions Dementia, determined during hospitalization, was associated with an elevated risk of suicide for older adults. Preventive measures should focus on suicidal ideation after initial diagnosis but also acknowledge that suicides can occur well after a dementia diagnosis has been established.

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Crossref · 10.1097/01.jgp.0000302930.75387.7e

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  • Other biological and epidemiologic data provide preliminary evidence that dementia is associated with increased suicide risk in older adults.

    “Other biological (24) and epidemiologic (22) data provide at least preliminary evidence that dementia too is associated with increased risk of suicide in older adults.”

    From Suicide in older adults (2011) · cites this paper as [22]

  • The psychological autopsy method may be poorly suited to study dementia and delirium because their signs and symptoms are less likely to be apparent in community settings to family and proxy informants.

    “The PA method may be poorly suited to the study of dementia and delirium the signs and symptoms of which, particularly early in the course of illness when the patient may be at relatively greater risk (22, 23), are less likely to be apparent in community settings to family members and other proxy informants.”

    From Suicide in older adults (2011) · cites this paper as [22]

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Authors
Erlangsen, A., Zarit, S. H., & Conwell, Y.
Affiliations
  • Aarhus University (DK)
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • University of Rochester Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Erlangsen, Annette
ORCID
Venue
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-03
Volume
16
Issue
3
Pages
220-228
ISSN
1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181602a12
PMC
PMC3775593
OpenAlex
W4247059785
Cited by
200
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 6
FWCI
6.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (P20MH071897)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
Keywords
dementia, suicide, mood disorders, older adults, hospitalization, suicide risk, suicidal ideation, time since diagnosis, sex differences, dementia diagnosis
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Cause of Death, Dementia, Denmark, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Registries, Risk, Sex Factors, Suicide, Dementia, Vascular, Comorbidity, Mood Disorders

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