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Attempted Suicide in Older Depressed Patients

Effect of Cognitive Functioning

Received October 8, 1998; revised January 15, 1999; accepted March 16, 1999. From the Laboratory of Suicide Studies, Program in Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry, Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY. Address correspondence to Dr. Conwell, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Rochester, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642; e-mail: Yeates_Conwell{at}urmc.rochester.edu

The authors explored cognitive functioning and suicidal behavior in older depressed patients. Inpatients age 50 years or older (N=103) with major depression, 45 of whom had attempted suicide, were evaluated within 1 week of their hospital admission. Measures of suicidal behavior included suicide attempter status, the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS), ratings of method used (violent/nonviolent), and seriousness of injuries sustained (lethality). The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score measured cognitive impairment; covariates were age, gender, and living arrangement. The MMSE score was not associated with suicide attempter status, but for attempters, MMSE score showed a positive association with SIS score, but not method or lethality. Findings suggest that although cognitive disturbance may be associated with less-deliberate acts among older depressed suicide attempters, it does not appear to influence the potential lethality of their behavior.

Key Words: Depression • Suicide • Dementias

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