Community adjustment of patients who threaten and attempt suicide.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R C Evenson.
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Age-specific suicide rates are presented, based on 207 white patients of the Missouri Department of Mental Health who were identified as having committed suicide during 1972-74. Results, divided by age, sex, diagnosis and patient status, are compared with other studies. Male inpatients are about five times more likely to commit suicide compared to the general population, while female inpatients are about 10 times more likely to do so. In both sexes, the rate is greatest for the diagnosis of major affective disorder. A history of psychiatric treatment increases the suicide risk more for women than for men, although male patients are still about twice as likely to commit suicide than are female patients. A quantitative model is presented which describes the relative influence of age, sex and diagnosis on suicide rates.
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Twelve per cent of suicides in Missouri during a 3-year period were identified as having been patients of the state mental health care system by computer matching of death certificate tapes and a statewide case registry file. The percentage of Missouri suicides who had been patients varied markedly among age groups. Compared to nonpatient suicides, the patient suicides had a more equal male/female ratio and were younger. Diagnostically, schizophrenia, alcoholism (among males), and affective disorder (among females) were prominent. Nonwhites had a low incidence of suicide. The significance of the patient status at the time of death is discussed.
Although more and more case reports of self-induced water intoxication are published each year, we do not know yet what induces certain psychiatric patients to drink water in excess, and why only some of them develop water intoxication. This report, based on 13 patients who had 21 episodes of self-induced water intoxication, is an attempt to explore the characteristics of the patient population at risk for this malady. The role of psychosis, psychotropic drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, and the possible predilection of Caucasians, should be tested in a larger patient population before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
Those people who had previously been patients of the Department of Mental Health of Missouri who died in the three year period 1972 through 1974 and whose deaths were designated as suicide or "undetermined whether purposely or accidentally inflicted," were identified by matching statewide death tapes against the DMH data base. The demographic characteristics of the two groups are compared to ascertain if the members of the undetermined group are essentially similar to the suicides, as has frequently been hypothesized. It is found that, in general, the similarities are in areas which would not have had a direct influence on the medical examiner/coroner's verdict, whereas, the differences do highlight areas which could cause an indecisive verdict. The significance of the undetermined deaths is discussed.
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According to testing and retesting of alcoholics admitted to a detoxication center, the reliability of the Alcohol History Form is comparable to that of most other psychometric instruments.
An attempt to predict referrals to an alcoholism treatment program from a general detoxication population was largely unsuccessful, suggesting that referrals are made on a subjective basis.
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Multivariate-equation predictions of length of hospital stay and probability of unauthorized absence were compared with similar predictions made by clincians and actual outcome for 167 patients drawn from a random sample of admissions during a two-month period at five state hospitals. The computer proved to be about as accurate as clinicians in predicting length of stay. Neither computer nor clinician was able to usefully predict unauthorized absence because of its infrquent occurrance. Use and improvement of such actuarial predictions within the Missouri automated data base were discussed.
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