A different suicide attempt in an elderly patient: A case report

Abstract

Article HistoryReceived 17 / 05 / 2012 Accepted 06 / 07 / 2012Depression in the elderly is a common psychiatric disorder, and significantly reduces the quality of life. Suicidal behavior in the elderly varies in a wide spectrum from wish to die to completed suicide. In elderly severe depression may not be diagnosed and unfortunately suicide is the most important complication in this group. The incidence of suicides varies among societies and there is significant difference between the sexes in terms of suicidal behavior. The strong association between depression and suicide attempts in the elderly has been pointed out in many works. The risk of suicide increases with age, regardless of the gender and physical health. Penetrating injuries are more rarely observed than other suicide methods. In this case report, we present an elderly patient with depression who tried a different method of suicide.