Suicide Victims’ Last Contact With the Primary Care Physician: Report From Slovenia

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have reported that many suicide victims have had contact with their physicians a week or month prior to their suicide.

Aims: To assess the date of the last appointment (and complaint) of suicide victims in the Škofja Loka region within Slovenia.

Method: We included all suicide victims in the region in the period 1993—2003. Each of the cases was assigned the closest control in terms of age and gender. Medical death certificates served as a source of demographic data information and information about suicide method. From personal medical records we obtained the date of the last appointment (and the complaint) with the primary care physician. The same was done for the control group. The groups were compared for their last appointment with their physician (date and complaint).

Results: Thirty out of 77 suicide victims visited their physician in the last month before suicide (14/77 in the last week); only 16/77 controls did so before the index day (3/77 in the last week). In 30% of suicide victims, the reason for the last visit was mental health problems (only 3% in the control group).

Conclusion: The results emphasize the important role of primary care physicians in suicide prevention.