Suicidal drowning deaths in northern Sweden 1992-2009: the role of mental disorder and intoxication
2015 (English)In: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, ISSN 1752-928X, E-ISSN 1878-7487, Vol. 34, p. 168-172Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Suicides by drowning have received limited attention by researchers. A recent finding that almost onethird of all drowning deaths in Sweden were classified as suicide instigated this study. We identified 129 cases of suicide by drowning in Northern Sweden and analyzed the circumstances and the psychiatric history prior to the suicide. Information was obtained from autopsy, police and medical records, as well as from the National Inpatient Register. One-third of the suicide victims had previously attempted suicide and half of the victims had been hospitalized due to mental health problems. One-third of these had left the hospital less than one week before the suicide. Alcohol and psychoactive drugs were present in 16% and 62% of the cases, respectively. A history of mental disorder and previous suicide attempt (s), especially by drowning, is an ominous combination necessitating efficient clinical identification, treatment and follow-up if a complete suicide is to be prevented.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2015. Vol. 34, p. 168-172
Keywords [en]
Suicide, Drowning, Mental disorder, Intoxication
National Category
Forensic Science
Research subject
Forensic Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-105720DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2015.06.002ISI: 000357743300030PubMedID: 26165679Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84933509854OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-105720DiVA, id: diva2:827885
Funder
The Kempe Foundations
Note
The study was supported by grants from the Kempe Foundation and the Section of Forensic Medicine, Umeå University. We are also indebted to the National Board of Forensic Medicine and the National Board of Health and Welfare for providing data for the study.
2015-06-292015-06-292023-03-23Bibliographically approved