Attempted suicide in the elderly: Characteristics of suicide attempters 70 years and older and a general population comparison group
Abstract
Objective To identify factors associated with attempted suicide in the elderly.Design Social, psychological, and psychiatric characteristics were compared in suicide attempters (70 years and older) and a representative population sample.Settings Emergency departments at five hospitals in western Sweden and a representative sample of the elderly population.Participants Persons with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score <15 were excluded. One hundred forty persons who sought hospital treatment after a suicide attempt were eligible and 103 participated (57 women, 46 men, and mean age 80 years). Comparison subjects matched for gender and age group (N = 408) were randomly selected among participants in our general population studies.Measurements Symptoms were rated with identical instruments in cases and comparison subjects. The examination included the MMSE and tests of short- and long-term memory, abstract thinking, aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia. Depressive symptomatology was measured using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, and major and minor depressions were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, using symptom algorithms.Results Factors associated with attempted suicide included being unmarried, living alone, low education level, history of psychiatric treatment, and previous suicide attempt. There was no association with dementia. Odds ratios were increased for both major (odds ratio [OR]: 47.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.1-117.7) and minor (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.5-4.7) depressions. An association was observed between perceived loneliness and attempted suicide; this relationship was independent of depression (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.3-6.1).Conclusions Observed associations mirrored those previously shown for completed suicide. Results may help to inform clinical decisions regarding suicide risk evaluation in this vulnerable and growing age group.
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Those treated for suicide attempt were more likely to be unmarried/not cohabitating in a Swedish study of individuals aged 70 and above.
“Those who were treated in connection with a suicide attempt were more likely to be unmarried/not cohabitating.”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Factors related to self-harm/non-fatal suicidal behavior were examined in six studies.
“Factors related to self-harm/non-fatal suicidal behavior were examined in six studies [27,35,36,37,38,39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Living in an institution did not increase risk of suicide attempt in the Swedish study conducted by Wiktorsson.
“Living in institution did not increase risk of suicide attempt in the Swedish study conducted by Wiktorsson [39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Living alone was associated with increased risk of suicide attempt in the Swedish study conducted by Wiktorsson.
“Living alone was associated with increased risk of suicide attempt in the Swedish study conducted by Wiktorsson [39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Loneliness was associated with increased risk for both non-fatal and fatal suicidal behavior in Swedish studies.
“Loneliness—the inner, subjective experience of social disconnectedness—was examined in two Swedish studies (across three publications), documenting increased risk for both non-fatal and fatal suicidal behavior [39,40,42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Only two of eleven studies that examined living arrangement reported an association between living alone and the outcomes of interest, one from Japan and one from Sweden.
“Only two of the eleven studies that examined living arrangement reported an association between living alone and the outcomes of interest, one from Japan [37] and another from Sweden [39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
The presence of loneliness was associated with nearly three times greater risk of a suicide attempt in the Wiktorsson study.
“The presence of loneliness was associated with nearly three times greater risk of a suicide attempt in the study by Wiktorsson [39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
Consistent results were found for subjective measures of social connectedness: perceived social support (two U.S. studies) and loneliness (two Swedish studies).
“Though investigated in fewer studies, consistent results were also found for subjective measures of social connectedness—perceived social support (two U.S. studies [31,41]) and loneliness (two Swedish studies [39,40,42]).”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [39]
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- Authors
- Wiktorsson, S., Runeson, B., Skoog, I., Östling, S., & Waern, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Wiktorsson, Stefan
- Venue
- The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-01
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 57-67
- ISSN
- 1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2068534371
- Cited by
- 212
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 8.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- suicide attempts, older adults, depression, loneliness, living alone, marital status, educational attainment, psychiatric treatment history, dementia, cognitive impairment
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Cognition, Dementia, Depression, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Risk Factors, Severity of Illness Index, Suicide, Attempted, Sweden, Geriatric Assessment, Case-Control Studies, Population Groups
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