The New York Times (11/8, D5, Brody, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry “reveals just how lethal suicide attempts, as a risk factor for completed suicide, are.” After tracking “all first suicide attempts in one county in Minnesota that occurred between January 1986 and December 2007 and” then recording “all the deaths by suicide for up to 25 years thereafter,” researchers found that “the fatality rate among suicide attempters was nearly 59 percent higher than had been previously reported.” The study also found that “the odds of successfully committing suicide are 140 times greater when a gun is used than for any other method.” The authors of an accompanying editorial observed that gun “availability should be restricted through such measures as ‘legal restrictions regarding permission to purchase firearms, waiting periods, safe storage, background checks and registration guidelines.’”
Related Links:
— “After a Suicide Attempt, the Risk of Another Try,”Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, November 8, 2016.