Suicidal ideation as a presenting complaint. Associated diagnoses and characteristics in a casualty population.

A prospective study was conducted of all referrals to the emergency psychiatric service of an inner-London hospital over one year. There were 53 individuals who presented with the specific and spontaneous complaint of suicidal ideation without any accompanying act of self-harm. The main diagnoses in this group were personality disorders (40%) and alcohol dependence (15%); only 13% were suffering from depressive illness. Members of the group differed from the other 369 presenters to the service in that they were less likely to be accorded a diagnosis of a defined mental illness, twice as likely to have a criminal record, and more likely to have a previous history of deliberate self-harm. A quarter of the suicidal complainants were admitted to hospital following assessment.