Admission to General Hospital as a Predictor for Suicide among the Elderly

Annette Erlangsen, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Introduction: The highest suicide risk is in many countries found among the elderly. It has yet to be examined if elderly persons admitted with severe illness have higher suicide risks. Danish register data provide unique possibilities to identify elderly subgroups with elevated suicide risks. Purpose: The purpose is to examine the effect of illness on the suicide risks. The study focuses on the differences in suicide risks between the old (65-79) and the oldest old (80+). Data and methods: The entire Danish population aged 50+ is followed during 1994-98 (N= 1,978,527). Individual-level information on admission to general hospital, date of admission/discharge and diagnosis are included. We apply event-history analysis. Furthermore, triggering effects at time of admission/discharge as well as interaction effects with history of psychiatric admission are assessed. Results: Preliminary results show that disparities in health, in terms of illness, have an influence on the suicide risks among the elderly.