Unmasking depression in persons attempting suicide
Background: Suicidal behaviour is highly prevalent and increasing at an alarming rate among all socio-demographic groupings in South Africa. Approximately 9.5% of all unnatural deaths in young people in South Africa are due to suicide. The ratio of non-fatal suicide attempts to attempts with fatal o...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AOSIS
2015-04-01
|
| Series: | South African Family Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/4150 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background: Suicidal behaviour is highly prevalent and increasing at an alarming rate among all socio-demographic groupings in South Africa. Approximately 9.5% of all unnatural deaths in young people in South Africa are due to suicide. The ratio of non-fatal suicide attempts to attempts with fatal outcomes varies between 20:1 and 40:1 depending on the geographical region and the community composition being studied. Although depression is a common co-existing finding in many studies involving patients with suicidal behaviour, current evidence suggests that it is either not detected or it is inappropriately managed in clinical practice.
Aim: This study compared self-reported perceived and objectively assessed personal physical and mental well-being of adults attempting suicide and being admitted to two local community-based public hospitals in South Africa.
Method: Validated questionnaires were used to elicit relevant data from 688 adults attempting suicide and being admitted to two community-based public hospitals in Durban which was analysed using SPSS®.
Results: The majority of participants were female, single, younger age group, unemployed, low education and low income level. Only 30.3% of participants reported long-standing illnesses lasting more than 6 months. The majority perceived their physical and mental health to be normal. However, an objective assessment revealed a large number of participants to be suffering from varying levels of depression.
Conclusion: The study population comprised mainly the younger age group in both sexes, and showed that depression is an important co-morbid risk factor in suicidal behaviour in this and other groups. This finding cannot be ignored, and the authors endorse the call for a scaling up of screening strategies to diagnose depression, and for an improved prevention and management framework. (Full text available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojfp) S Afr Fam Pract 2015; DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2014.1002219 |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2078-6190 2078-6204 |