Medscape (1/22, Melville) reports that research suggests that “suicide during pregnancy and in the postnatal period, though uncommon, is associated with important risk factors, including a greater likelihood of having received a diagnosis of depression and a lower chance of having received treatment, compared with suicides occurring outside of the perinatal period.” The study also found that “perinatal women who died as a result of suicide were younger than the women who died by suicide but who were not in the perinatal period (crude OR, -6.39; P < .0001).” Additionally, “they were more likely to be married (OR, 4.46; P < .0001), to have had illness of shorter duration (OR 2.93; P < .001), and to have no history of alcohol misuse (OR, 0.47; P = .027).” Investigators came to these conclusions after looking at data from the UK National Confidential Inquiry into Suicides and Homicides by People with Mental Illness. Related Links:
— Medscape (requires login and subscription)