A prospective study of noncompliance with medication, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior in recently discharged psychiatric inpatients.

Discharged psychiatric inpatients are at a greater risk of suicide in the three months following discharge. However, risk factors for this group are not clear. In this study 69 psychiatric inpatients were recruited and suicidal ideation, insight and compliance scores were measured at discharge and 12 weeks post-discharge. There were clinically significant rates of suicidal ideation (52%) and deliberate self harm (28%) in the post-discharge period. Over half of patients (52%) became noncompliant with medication. Subjects with lower insight scores at discharge were significantly more likely to become noncompliant. Suicidal ideation scores increased irrespective of compliance from discharge to follow-up and this increase was significantly greater in noncompliant subjects. We conclude that noncompliance with medication is associated with suicidal ideation.