Suicide in Patients with Schizophrenia in Norway – Results from a National Hybrid Questionnaire-Registry Study

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Patients with schizophrenia have a considerably shorter lifespan compared to the general population and suicide is an important contributing factor. Nearly five percent of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia die from suicide during their lifespan, with the highest risk in the early phases after illness onset. The aim of this study has been to describe the characteristics of Norwegian patients with schizophrenia who died by suicide within one year of contact with mental health services and compare them with patients with other psychotic disorders. Method: A hybrid questionnaire-registry study was conducted with 122 individuals with psychotic disorders who died by suicide from 2018 to 2020. Cross tables with chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyzed demographic, behavioral, and symptomatic variables, with schizophrenia as the dependent variable. The study included 53 (43.4 %) patients with schizophrenia (F20), and 69 (56.6 %) patients with other psychoses (F21-F29). Results: Patients with schizophrenia were more often men, regarded hostile at last contact and prescribed depot antipsychotic drugs compared to patients with other psychotic disorders which more often had a history of alcohol and childhood abuse and who more often were considered with depressed mood, hopelessness and recently deliberate self-harm at last contact. Conclusions: Demographic, behavioral, and symptomatic variables differed between patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses who died by suicide, indicating that a different approach to mapping, assessing and handling suicide risk might be needed for these patients.

Keywords: suicide, psychosis, schizophrenia, suicide prevention