Suicidal Ideation In Alcohol Dependence Patients

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol use has implicated an increase rate of suicide, mainly in elderly male. AIM: To study the correlates of suicidal ideation in alcohol dependence patients and compare it with the rates in controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, analytical study done in tertiary health care centre, 80 consecutive individuals older than 18 years of age were taken as cases who have alcohol intake and equal number of age and sex matched individuals with no alcohol and no other psychiatric illness were taken as controls. There informed consent, sociodemographic details, quantity and frequency of alcohol were taken. AUDIT-C was used to rule out Alcohol Dependence in controls. Positive and Negative suicidal Ideation scale, PANSI was applied on both groups. Appropriate statistical analysis was done on the data. RESULTS: Among cases, mean age of first alcohol intake was 20, mean duration was12 years, mean quantity of alcohol intake was 3 quarters/day and mean frequency of drinking was twice daily. On PANSI, 73.2% cases and 36.6% control, show score > 17, higher score on PANSI-NSI sub-scale and score< 10, lower score on PANSI-PI sub- scale, indicating higher rate of suicide among cases as compared to controls. Among 73.2% cases, 88.6% were male, mean age of 36.6 years, belonging to lower socio-economic status. CONCLUSION: Alcohol dependence patients have higher risk of suicide as compared to matched control subjects.