Trastorno delirante y conducta suicida: estudio descriptivo de 26 casos

Abstract

Introduction/Background: Suicidal behavior in delusional disorder (DD) patients has been poorly studied. Objective: Investigate the demographic, environmental, psychosocial and clinical characteristics of the suicidal behavior in a group of patients with DD. Method: Retrospective descriptive study of DD cases registered at Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene Clinic of Cordoba according to DSM-IV criteria was conducted. We obtained a sample of 261 DD patients who met the inclusion criteria, of them 26 cases presented evidence of suicidal behavior. Data and variables collected were divided into 4 groups: I. Socio-demographic and general data. II. DD risk factors (personal and family). III. DD clinical picture and diagnosis (presentation, symptoms, disability, use of health care resources, treatment, and evolution) and lethal methods used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 47 years old and 60% were males. Socio-demographic data show that 46.2% of patients with suicidal behavior lived in rural areas, only 15.4% were analphabet, 57.7% were unemployed, and 26.9% were receiving a pension because of illness or retirement. The persecutory subtype with 8 cases was the most frequent presentation, followed by grandiose (6 cases) and jealous (6 cases), mixed (3 cases), erotomanic (2 cases) and somatic (1 case) subtypes. Discussion and conclusion: It is necessary to conduct future prospective studies to investigate the protective and risks factors associated with the suicidal behavior in DD patients.