Suicide in chronic schizophrenia.

A matched controlled study of 30 chronic schizophrenic suicides is presented. Eighty per cent were male and committed suicide at a mean age of 25.8 years after a mean duration of illness of 4.8 years. Significantly more of the suicides had a chronic relapsing schizophrenic illness; 23.3 per cent committed suicide while in-patients, and 50 per cent of the out-patients committed suicide within three months of discharge from in-patient care. Significantly more of the suicides had a past history of depression (56.6 per cent), were depressed in the last episode of contract (53.3 per cent), had their last admission for depression or suicidal ideation (55.2 per cent) and were unemployed (80 per cent).