Substance misuse in life and death in a 2-year cohort ofsuicides

Substance misuse in life and death in a 2-year cohort ofsuicides

BackgroundAlthough substance misuse is a key risk factor in suicide, relativelylittle is known about the relationship between lifetime misuse and misuseat the time of suicide.AimsTo examine the relationship between substance misuse and subsequentsuicide.MethodLinkage of coroners' reports to pri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 2016-03, Vol.208 (3), p.292-297
Main Authors: Galway, Karen, Gossrau-Breen Diana, Mallon, Sharon, Hughes, Lynette, Rosato, Michael, Rondon-Sulbaran Janeet, Leavey, Gerard
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Addictions
Adults
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol use
Care records
Coroners
Data collection
Dosage
Drug abuse
Drug overdose
Drug use
Population
Prescription drugs
Prevention programs
Primary care
Psychiatry
Psychosocial factors
Public health
Risk factors
Substance abuse
Suicide
Suicides & suicide attempts
Toxicology
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Summary:BackgroundAlthough substance misuse is a key risk factor in suicide, relativelylittle is known about the relationship between lifetime misuse and misuseat the time of suicide.AimsTo examine the relationship between substance misuse and subsequentsuicide.MethodLinkage of coroners' reports to primary care records for 403 suicidesoccurring over 2 years.ResultsWith alcohol misuse, 67% of the cohort had previously sought help foralcohol problems and 39% were intoxicated at the time of suicide.Regarding misuse of other substances, 54% of the cohort was tested.Almost one in four (38%) tested positive, defined as an excess of drugsover the prescribed therapeutic dosage and/or detection of illicitsubstances. Those tested were more likely to be young and have a historyof drug misuse.ConclusionsA deeper understanding of the relationship between substance misuse andsuicide could contribute to prevention initiatives. Furthermore,standardised toxicology screening processes would avoid diminishing theimportance of psychosocial factors involved in suicide as a ‘cause ofdeath’.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465