NCJ Number
227855
Journal
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: 1993 Pages: 34-45
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a retrospective review of hospital records - controlled for age, sex, and race - for 33 Alaska Native suicide completers who died between 1980 and 1984.
Abstract
A history of alcohol abuse and prior suicide attempts was found to be strongly associated with completed suicide and was significantly more common among completers than matched controls. These findings indicate the need to develop and implement appropriate screening measures for individuals examined and treated in primary care settings. Death certificates for every Alaska Native who died between 1980 and 1984 were reviewed at the offices for the Centers of Disease Control in Anchorage, AK. This review identified 74 patients who committed suicide during that period, certainly an underestimate of the true suicide rate. The list of suicide completers was then cross-matched against a list of patients who had received care at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, a tertiary-care facility that is the referral center for the 60,000 Alaska Natives served by the Alaska Area Indian Health Service. Through this cross-matching, 39 charts were found for every individual who had committed suicide between 1980 and 1984 and had received care at the center. Cases were included in the study group if they contained a comprehensive history with a review of systems, including psychiatric history, or alternatively, if the chart documented ongoing medical care for the individual. This resulted in 33 charts being reviewed for this study. A control group was developed by selecting the next chart alphabetically in the hospital records for an individual of the same age and sex as the suicide victim. Individuals in both the suicide and control groups were Alaska Natives eligible to receive care through the Indian Health Service. 2 tables and 28 references