To investigate mechanisms of suicide risk in people bereaved by suicide, prompted by observations that bereaved people experience higher levels of distress around dates of emotional significance. We hypothesised that suicide-bereaved first-degree relatives and partners experience an increased risk of self-harm and suicide around dates of (i) anniversaries of the death and (ii) the deceased’s birthday, compared with intervening periods.

We conducted a self-controlled case series study using national register data on all individuals living in Denmark from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2016 and who were bereaved by the suicide of a first-degree relative or partner (spouse or cohabitee) during that period, and who had the outcome (any episode of self-harm or suicide) within 5 years and 6 weeks of the bereavement. We compared relative incidence of suicidal behaviour in (i) the first 30 days after bereavement and (ii) in the aggregated exposed periods (6 weeks either side of death anniversaries; 6 weeks either side of the deceased’s birthdays) to the reference (aggregated unexposed intervening periods). As an indirect comparison, we repeated these models in people bereaved by other causes.

We found no evidence of an elevated risk of suicidal behaviour during periods around anniversaries of a death or the deceased’s birthdays in people bereaved by suicide (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRRadj] = 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87–1.16) or other causes (IRRadj = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.00–1.08) compared with intervening periods. Rates were elevated in the 30 days immediately after bereavement by other causes (IRRadj: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.77–2.22).

Although people bereaved by suicide are at elevated risk of self-harm and suicide, our findings do not suggest that this risk is heightened around emotionally significant anniversaries. Bereavement care should be accessible at all points after a traumatic loss as needs will differ over the grief trajectory.

In Finland more than 40% of fertile aged women used some type of hormonal contraception (HC) in the period 2010-2013. A proportion of women using HC complains of side effects, including mood symptoms. The relationship between the use of HC and the risk of attempted suicide (AS) is still a matter of debate.

To assess the association of the use of HC with the risk of AS during 2017-2019.

Data were retrieved from the Prescription Centre, Care Register of Health Care, Register of Primary Health Care Visits and Statistics Finland. A total of 587 823 women, aged 15-49 years, using and not using HC in 2017 were analysed in the initial incidence study. All incident AS cases during 2018-2019, and their 4:1 age-matched controls (1 174 346 person-years) were analysed in a nested case-control setting via conditional logistic regression models.

Altogether 818 AS cases occurred during the follow-up (incidence rate: 0.70/1000 person-years, 95% CI 0.65–0.75), with an IRR of HC vs. no-HC use of 0.73 (0.63–0.83). Current use (in the 180 days before the event) of estradiol- or ethinylestradiol-containing HC was associated with a lower risk of AS (0.53, 0.33–0.87; 0.49, 0.37–0.64, respectively) compared to non-use of HC. After controlling for covariates (marital and socioeconomic status, education level, use of psychotropic medications), only current use of HC containing ethinylestradiol remained significant (0.39, 0.23–0.65).

A lower risk of AS is associated with the use of HC, and specifically of ethinylestradiol-containing HC.

No significant relationships.

Both theoretical conceptualizations (M.&E. Laufers, E. Furman, J. Maltsberger, etc. ) and empirical studies (I. Orbach) suggest an important role body image plays in the dynamics of adolescent suicidal attempts.

To study the relationships between body image vulnerability and attachment attitudes concerning early care and current relationships.

Participants were 100 adolescents with suicidal behavior (46 with suicidal ideation only, 54 with suicide attempts) compared to 100 controls (12-17 years). Body attitudes were assessed with Body Investment Scale (BIS), perceived early care was assessed by Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI), current attachments experiences were assessed with Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ).

Adolescents with suicidal manifestations scored significantly lower on BIS Body Care (p<.001) , but higher on Comfort with Touch scales (p=.05). They did not differ significantly on Body Image and Body Protection scales. With regard to perceived early care, suicidal adolescents did score lower on all Care and Control PBI scales, in both paternal and maternal forms. For current attachments suicidal adolescents scored lower on Confidence (p<.001) and higher on Approval Need (p<0.05) ASQ scales. Correlation analysis suggests, for both groups, stronger relationships of body attitude dimensions to current relationships than to perceived parental care, the former being more marked in clinical group, with Body Image scale being related to all ASQ scales ranging from r=-.32 to r=-.63.

In current study only weaker tendency to care for body in suicidal adolescents was noted. However, in suicidal group the relationship between body image vulnerability and negative experiences of current attachments was stronger.

No significant relationships.

Maternal suicide attempts are associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes in children, but the association with chronic morbidity is poorly understood. We examined the relationship between maternal suicide attempt and risk of hospitalization for potentially preventable conditions in offspring.

We analyzed a longitudinal cohort of 1 032 210 children born in Quebec, Canada between 2006 and 2019. The main exposure measure was maternal suicide attempt before or during pregnancy. Outcomes included child hospitalizations for potentially preventable conditions, including infectious diseases, dental caries, atopy, and injury up to 14 years after birth. We used adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of maternal suicide attempt with risk of hospitalization for these outcomes.

Compared with no suicide attempt, children whose mothers attempted suicide had an increased risk of hospitalization for infectious diseases (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.16), dental caries (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15–1.48), and injury (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03–1.31). Risk of hospitalization for any of these outcomes was greater if mothers attempted suicide by hanging (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.22–1.75), had their first attempt between the age of 25 and 34 years (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13–1.42), and had 3 or more attempts (HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.27–1.91). Maternal suicide attempts were more strongly associated with child hospitalization before 10 years of age.

Children whose mothers have a history of suicide attempt have an elevated risk of hospitalization for potentially preventable conditions.

There is a substantial burden on global mental health as a result of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has become putting pressure on healthcare systems. There is increasing concern about rising suicidality consequential to the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken. Existing research about the impact of earlier epidemics and economic crises as well as current studies about the effects of the pandemic on public mental health and populations at risk indicate rising suicidality, especially in the middle and longer term.

This study investigated the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidality by comparing weekly in-patient admissions for individuals who were suicidal or who attempted suicide just before admission, for the first 6 months after the pandemic's onset in Switzerland with corresponding 2019 control data.

Data was collected at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich. An interrupted time-series design was used to analyse the number of patients who were suicidal.

Instead of a suggested higher rate of suicidality, fewer admissions of patients with suicidal thoughts were found during the first 6-months after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the proportion of involuntary admissions was found to be higher and more patients have been admitted after a first suicide attempt than in the corresponding control period from 2019.

Although admissions relating to suicidality decreased during the pandemic, the rising number of patients admitted with a first suicide attempt may be an early indicator for an upcoming extra burden on public mental health (and care). Being a multifactorial process, suicidality is influenced in several ways; low in-patient admissions of patients who are suicidal could also reflect fear of contagion and related uncertainty about seeking mental healthcare.

To investigate whether high-lethality suicide attempters align to the demographic and clinical features observed in completed suicide in the national and international literature, and whether low-lethality attempters more closely align with the clinical profile of non-attempter ideators.

A retrospective chart review of adult suicide ideators and attempters presenting to an urban tertiary care hospital was performed. Suicide ideators (n = 50) and attempters (n = 50) were coded for variables including demographics and clinical characteristics (e.g. psychiatric diagnosis and previous suicide attempt). Method and lethality of suicide attempt were coded using the medical Lethality Rating Scale.

High-lethality attempters were more likely to be younger in age than low-lethality attempters (p = 0.026) and ideators (p = 0.041). The lethality scores of suicide attempts were significantly inversely correlated with age (p = 0.017).

Our study adds to the small but increasing body of literature investigating the characteristics of high-lethality suicide attempters and suggests younger adult age is a risk factor for a high-lethality attempt. Further understanding of this unique group would be aided by widespread agreement on the definition of a high-lethality suicide attempt and longitudinal studies of this cohort.

Studies on the transmission of suicide risk have focused on parental history of suicide attempts (SAs), overlooking when the attempt happened. This study examined how the offspring's risk of attempting or dying by suicide varied by the timing of a first parental SA and the sex of the parent who attempted suicide.

Participants were 59 469 members of the 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort. The Finnish Hospital Discharge and Cause of Death Registers were the sources for parental and offspring SAs and offspring suicide. Timing of parental SA was coded as before (pre-pregnancy and pregnancy) and after the child's birth [infant/toddler years (0–2 years), childhood (3–11 years), adolescence (12–17 years), and young adulthood (18–26 years)].

In the multivariate models, having a parent who attempted suicide increased the offspring's risk of attempting suicide (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39–2.25), but not of dying by suicide. Compared to unexposed offspring, those exposed after child's birth were at higher risk of attempting suicide (OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.46–2.47), specifically when the parent attempted during offspring's childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. A first maternal SA increased offspring's risk of attempting suicide regardless of the timing.

The impact of a parental SA on offspring's risk of attempting suicide differed depending on the timing and sex of the parent who attempted suicide, suggesting that the transmission of suicide risk may occur through genetic as well as environmental factors. Our findings call for an intergenerational approach in suicide risk assessment.

Choice of suicide method can strongly influence the outcome of suicidal behaviour, and is an important aspect of the process and planning involved in a suicide attempt. Yet, the reasons why individuals consider, choose or discard particular methods are not well understood.

This is the first study to explore method choices among people with a history of suicidal behaviour and individuals who have experienced, but not enacted, suicidal thoughts.

Via an online survey, we gathered open-ended data about choice of methods in relation to suicidal thoughts and behaviours, including reasons for and against specific means of harm.

A total of 712 respondents had attempted suicide, and a further 686 experienced suicidal thoughts (but not acted on them). Self-poisoning was the most commonly contemplated and used method of suicide, but most respondents had considered multiple methods. Method choices when contemplating suicide included a broader range of means than those used in actual attempts, and more unusual methods, particularly if perceived to be lethal, ‘easy’, quick, accessible and/or painless. Methods used in suicide attempts were, above all, described as having been accessible at the time, and were more commonly said to have been chosen impulsively. Key deterrents against the use of specific methods were the presence of and impact on other people, especially loved ones, and fears of injury and survival.

Exploration of method choices can offer novel insights into the transition from suicidal ideation to behaviour. Results underscore the need for preventative measures to restrict access to means and delay impulsive behaviour.

Since 1999, the rate of fatal prescription opioid overdoses and of suicides has dramatically increased in the USA. These increases, which have occurred among similar demographic groups, have led to the hypothesis that the opioid epidemic contributed to increases in suicidal behavior, though the underlying association remains poorly defined. We examine the association between nonmedical use of prescription opioids/opioid use disorder and suicidal ideation/attempts.

We used longitudinal data from a national representative sample of the US adult population, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Participants (n = 34 653) were interviewed in 2001–2002 (wave 1) and re-interviewed approximately 3 years later (wave 2). A propensity score analysis estimated the association between exposure to prescription opioids at wave 1 and prevalent/incident suicidal behavior at wave 2.

Heavy/frequent (⩾2–3 times a month) prescription opioid use was associated with prevalent suicide attempts [adjusted risk ratio (ARR) = 2.75, 95% CI 1.35–5.60]. Prescription opioid use disorder was associated with prevalent (ARR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.20–3.28) and incident suicidal ideation (ARR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.25–5.37), and prevalent attempts (ARR = 4.19, 95% CI 1.71–10.27). None of the exposures was associated with incident suicide attempts.

Heavy/frequent opioid use and related disorder were associated with prevalent suicide attempts; opioid use disorder was also associated with the incident and prevalent suicidal ideation. Given population increases in nonmedical use of prescription opioids and disorder, the opioid crisis may have contributed to population increases in suicidal ideation.

Despite the evident progress of medicine and psychiatry in recent decades there is an increase in the number of suicide attempts in psychiatric patients in outpatient and hospital settings.

To determine the epidemiological characteristics of suicidal patients admitted at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Clinical Hospital Mostar.

We conducted a retrospective study in which we analyzed data from the medical history of 189 patients hospitalized after a suicide attempt at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Clinical Hospital Mostar in the period from 2004 to 2013.

Patients who attempted suicide were more often females (52.9%), unemployed (47.6%), with lower (31.7%) and intermediate level of education (52.4%), married (45.5%), without children (37.6%) and were more likely to come from urban areas (75.7%). Most of the subjects had already been in some kind of psychiatric treatment (65.1%) before. The most common method of attempting suicide was poisoning (54.0%) and when observed by gender it was significantly more frequent in females (p<0.001). Male subjects were significantly more frequently alcohol (p=0.001) and drug (p=0.001) abusers, and also more frequently were participants in the last Civil war (p<0.001) and wounded during it (p<0.001).

Suicide attempts are more common in unemployed subjects, subjects with intermediate level of education, subjects who come from urban areas and in subjects who had previously received psychiatric treatment. The most common way of suicide attempts is by poisoning which was statistically significant in female subjects.

To evaluate the prevalence and associated variables of intentional self-poisoning in individuals from 8 to 17 years.

This study includes 4658 cases. Analyzed variables were gender, age, agent and time (month, week day and hour).

In total, 3759 (80.70%) were girls. The rate in 100,000 children and adolescents residents grown from 25.12 in 2005 to 35.24 to 2012. The biggest incidence was in the 15 to 17 age group (63.35%). The leading agent was medications (84.6%): 1093 (23.47%) antidepressant, 967 (20.76%) benzodiazepines, 708 (15.20%) antipyretics, 606 (13.01%) anticonvulsants, 460 (9.88%) neuroleptics and 382 (8.2%) anti-inflammatory non-steroids. The antidepressant more used was amitriptyline (7.26%), followed by fluoxetine (6.57%). Growing cases involving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been seen, as a fall of self-poisoning tricyclic antidepressants cases. The majority of cases was in October (10.1%), on Tuesday (15.1%), and at 18:00 to 21:00 (29.46%).

The elevated rate of self-poisoning in children and adolescents in southern Brazil, growing each year, shows the relevance of this subject. It is important to considerate how easily these children and adolescents have access to psychotropics.