Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Mar 2022)

Suicidal Behavior Among Elderly Inpatients: its Relation to Functional Disability and Pain

  • Wahab S,
  • Chua TY,
  • Razali R,
  • Mat Saher Z,
  • Zamzam IH,
  • Bujang MA

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 737 – 750

Abstract

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Suzaily Wahab,1 Tien Yong Chua,2 Rosdinom Razali,1 Zanariah Mat Saher,3 Iman Hakimi Zamzam,1 Mohamad Adam Bujang4 1Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia; 2Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Bintulu, Bintulu, 97000, Sarawak, Malaysia; 3Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, 50586, Malaysia; 4Clinical Research Centre, Sarawak General Hospital, Kuching, 93586, Sarawak, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Suzaily Wahab, Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Cheras, 56000, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Email [email protected]: Suicidal behavior (SB) among elderly inpatients has exhibited a growing global drift. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of SB among elderly inpatients and identify the relationship between SB and depression and functional disability.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 136 randomly selected elderly inpatients aged 60 years and older who were hospitalized in a tertiary referral center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The study utilized the following scales as the assessment tools: The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.), the Modified Barthel Index (Shah version) (MBI), and visual analog scale.Results: The rates of current major depressive disorder (MDD), recurrent MDD, passive suicidal ideation (SI), and active SI were 24.3%, 8.8%, 27.9%, and 5.9%, respectively. Depressed elderly had 6 to 17 times higher risk of developing passive or active SI. “Wish to be dead,” ie, passive SI was associated with admission to oncology or surgical ward and the presence of current MDD. The findings of the study revealed that active SI was associated with being over 80 years old (p = 0.027), being single (p = 0.042), admission to the oncology ward (p = 0.012) or orthopedic ward (p = 0.032), having positive GDS (p = 0.049), and the presence of current MDD (p = 0.019) or recurrent MDD (p = 0.010). According to the study findings, no association has been observed between passive and active SI and level of independence and acute pain.Conclusion: The risk of depressed elderly inpatients having passive and active SI is high. Hence, screening for depression and SI is crucial for prompt treatment and management.Keywords: depression, elderly, functional disability, pain, suicidal behavior

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