We have pursued the association between clinical and socio-demographic characteristics and the suicide attempts at inpatients with major depressive disorder.

We ran an historical case control study to analyse the individual characteristics associated with suicide attempts in the depression inpatients admitted into the 9th Department of the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Al. Obregia” between 01 January 2007 - 01 January 2008. A total of 168 subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) were included in the study. The patients were separated into two subgroups: “S” - the group with suicide attempt as reason of the present admission into hospital and the comparative group “C” - those without a suicidal attempt at the present admission (used as control group). The two groups were compared with respect to the individual characteristics, following their possible association with the suicidal attempts risk. We used the chi-square (x2) statistic for categorical variables.

Our findings suggest that the most robust predictors of suicide attempts in depression are the younger age of the depression onset, previous psychiatric hospitalizations, low socio-economic status, “single” marital status (widowed/divorced), with no children, heredocolateral history of suicidal attempts and the comorbidity with the problematic alcohol consumption.

The risk factors associated with the suicidal attempts are useful for the screening, finding, prediction and prophylaxis of suicide attempts in major depression.