The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 31 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Predictors of Suicide in the Old Elderly
Abstract
Background: Seniors aged 75 and above have the highest suicide rates of all age groups in most industrialized countries. However, research concerning risk factors for suicide in the old elderly is sparse. Objective: The purpose was to determine predictors for suicide among the old elderly (75+). Data concerning the young elderly (65–74 years) are shown for comparison. Methods: 85 consecutive cases of suicide that occurred in western Sweden and 153 control persons with the same sex, birth year, and zip code as the suicide cases were randomly selected from the tax register. The old elderly group included 38 cases and 71 controls; the young elderly group included 47 cases and 82 controls. Data concerning the suicide cases were collected through interviews with close informants; controls were interviewed in person. The interview included questions on past-year life events and mental and physical health. Medical records were reviewed for cases and controls. The Cumulative Illness Rating Scale – Geriatrics was used to rate illness burden. Results: Family conflict, serious physical illness, loneliness, and both major and minor depressions were associated with suicide in the 75+ group. Economic problems predicted suicide in the younger but not in the older elderly. Old elderly suicide victims with depression (major or minor) were less likely to have received depression treatment than their younger counterparts. Conclusions: Better recognition and treatment of both major and minor depression should constitute an important target for the prevention of suicide in the old elderly. Intervention studies with large numbers of senior participants are sorely needed.
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In the citing paper
“Only three studies (with four publications) examined suicide/fatal suicidal behavior [38,40,41,42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“found no difference between the two groups with regards to living alone [42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“Residential change over the past two years was not associated with death by suicide in the Swedish study by Rubenowitz [40], nor when Waern conducted separate analyses for those aged 65–74 years and those aged above 75 [42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“Waern noted that both younger (65–74) and older (75+) suicide decedents were significantly less involved in such activities than sex- and age-matched comparisons from the general population [42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“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 [42]
In the citing paper
“when Waern [42] analyzed data separately for those aged 65–74 years and those aged above 75, loneliness was found to be a stronger predictor among the latter age group.”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“An index of discordant connectedness—relationship discord—was examined in three publications, documenting associations with non-fatal [38] and fatal suicidal behavior [38,40,42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“Analysis of data from the Swedish psychological autopsy study revealed that interpersonal conflict over the prior 24 months was a significant predictor of suicide [40,42].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [42]
In the citing paper
“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 [42]
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“those of social networks, however, loneliness has been associated with a variety of negative health outcomes (O’Luanaigh and Lawlor, 2008), including an increased risk of all cause mortality (Seeman, 2000), and of suicide (Waern et al., 2003).”
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“Age-stratified analyses (Waern et al., 2003) demonstrated that serious physical health problems were associated with a fourfold increase in suicide risk in those aged 75 and older.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Waern, M., Rubenowitz, E., & Wilhelmson, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
- ORCID
- Wilhelmson, Katarina
- Venue
- Gerontology
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2003
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 328-334
- ISSN
- 0304-324X (ISSN-L)
- 1423-0003
- OpenAlex
- W2086377562
- Cited by
- 360
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 12.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Gerontology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Keywords
- suicide, oldest old, older adults, risk factors, depression, family conflict, loneliness, physical illness, economic problems, depression treatment, suicide prevention, life events, mental health
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Mental Disorders, Female, Health Status, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Predictive Value of Tests, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychophysiologic Disorders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Support, Suicide, Sweden, Odds Ratio, Case-Control Studies
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