Attempted Suicide Among the Aged

Although the rate for suicide in old age is high, the rate for attempted (unsuccessful) suicide is low. Among the elderly, suicide-attempt groups have more physical disorders, more psychoses, and more psychopathologic findings, and are under-represented demographically. Fifty percent of the elderly suicide attempters have organic brain syndrome (OBS), compared to only 5-10 percent of the "normal" population over age 60. Among what might be expected to be a high-risk suicide population, OBS apparently interferes with the success of suicide attempts by impairing coordination, planning, determination, and awareness of reality.