Chronic dyspnea and suicide in elderly men. Hosp Community Psychiatry 1992 Dec;43(12):1198-203
Date
12/01/1992Pubmed ID
1459540DOI
10.1176/ps.43.12.1198Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0026480279 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 36 CitationsAbstract
In a structured psychological autopsy study of suicide in older adults, 14 cases in which the subjects experienced chronic dyspnea in the months or weeks before death were examined. Thirteen of the subjects were white men. Most had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, although none had previous contact with a mental health professional. Other common characteristics were chronic or terminal heart or lung disease, very recent contact with a primary physician, prior experience of self or a significant other suffering a debilitating disease, and a fiercely independent and inflexible personality type. The cases illustrate the intricacy of risk factors associated with suicide and alert other investigators and health care professionals to a possible link between chronic dyspnea and suicide risk.
Author List
Horton-Deutsch SL, Clark DC, Farran CJAuthor
David C. Clark PhD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Research Office department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedAged, 80 and over
Chronic Disease
Depressive Disorder
Dyspnea
Humans
Life Change Events
Male
Risk Factors
Sick Role
Social Environment
Suicide
