- Adapted from the National strategy for suicide prevention:
Goals and objectives for action. Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service 2001.
Mental Illness and Suicide
Although the great majority of people who suffer from a mental illness do not
die
by suicide, having a mental illness does increase the likelihood of suicide
compared to people who do not have one.
.. An estimated 2-15 % of persons who have been diagnosed with major
depression die by suicide. Suicide risk is highest in depressed individuals
who feel hopeless about the future, those who have just been discharged
from the hospital, those who have a family history of suicide and those
who have made a suicide attempt in the past.
.. An estimated 3-20% of persons who have been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder die by suicide. Hopelessness, recent hospital discharge, family
history, and prior suicide attempts all raise the risk of suicide in these
individuals.
.. An estimated 6-15% of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia die by
suicide. Suicide is the leading cause of premature death in those
diagnosed with schizophrenia. Between 75 and 95% of these individuals
are male.
.. Also at high risk are individuals who suffer from depression at the same
time as another mental illness. Specifically, the presence of substance
abuse, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder put those
with depression at greater risk for suicide.
.. People with personality disorders are approximately three times as likely
to die by suicide than those without. Between 25 and 50% of these
individuals also have a substance abuse disorder or major depressive
disorder.
.. People who die by suicide are frequently suffering from undiagnosed,
undertreated, or untreated depression.