Prevalence of suicidal ideation and its correlates in young and elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia.

AIM: This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate potential differences in the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its associated factors between young and elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia (SCZ).

METHODS

A total of 812 chronic SCZ inpatients were recruited, and information regarding their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics was gathered. Patients were classified into two age groups: young (18-49 years, n = 430) and elderly (50 years and above; n = 382). The Beck Suicide Ideation Scale-Chinese Version (BSI-CV) was used to evaluate the presence of suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

The prevalence of suicidal ideation observed among individuals with chronic SCZ stood at 21.18 %. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was markedly elevated in the young group compared to the elderly group (26.05 % VS 15.71 %, χ2 = 12.954, p < 0.001). The PANSS depression factor score was notably elevated in the young group than in the elderly group (p = 0.002). Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the presence of suicidal ideation in young group was associated with severe PANSS depression factor, severe PANSS positive symptom and poor sleep quality. In the elderly group, the presence of suicidal ideation was only associated with severe PANSS depression factor.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that young SCZ patients experienced more pronounced suicidal ideation compared to their elderly counterparts, and the clinical factors associated with suicidal ideation differed between these two groups. These findings hold important potential clinical implication for developing prevention strategies tailored to SCZ patients of different age groups.