Attempted suicide: Study of the phenomenon in a sample of patients in the province of Modena

Introduction Attempted suicide consists in a self-damaging nonfatal
behaviour, with an explicit or implicit evidence of the intent
to die. It has a multifactorial aetiology: presence of psychiatric
disorder, particularly major depression and other non-psychiatric
components, like a series of stressful events.
Aim To describe suicidal behavior among patients who
attempted suicide.
Methods Cross-sectional study. Patients admitted to three hospitals
in the Province ofModena(Italy) after having attempted suicide
were enrolled. Observation time: August 2015–August 2016 (13
months). Descriptive statistics made with STATA 13.0.
Results A total of 187 subjects (female 65%) were enrolled in the
period of time considered. Forty-one percent were aged 45–64;
43.7% had higher education; 50.4% were unemployed; 49.6% had
regular income. Common means to attempt suicide were drugs
(64%), weapons (11%), precipitation (10%), other (6%), choking (4%).
Recent stressful events were reported by the 83.4% of respondents,
namely: family conflicts (29%), economic problems (17%), personal
health problems (11%), health problems affecting a family member
(5%), emotional separation (9%), job loss (7%), other (22%), alcohol
abuse (27%), substance abuse (4%). The main psychiatric diagnoses
were: depressive disorder (56.67%), personality disorder (20%),
psychotic disorder (6.67%), bipolar disorder (5.33%), behavioural
disorders (2.67%), anxiety disorders (2%), dementia (1.33%).
Conclusions Findings of the present study are consistent with
available literature and could help to identify “high risk” groups
to plan future targeted programmes.