Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of incidence of suicidality in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek in the period from 2010 to 2015, as well as to determine whether there was a significant relationship between suicidality and parameters collected in the study. This study comprised 380 schizophrenic patients hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek in the period between 2010 and 2015. Data were collected from the medical histories of participants diagnosed with schizophrenia by means of a questionnaire drafted for the purpose of this study. The questionnaire contained the following information: age, sex, employment status, marital status, qualifications, number of children, medications used to treat schizophrenia, existence of a suicide attempt or a repeated suicide attempt, method of a suicide attempt, comorbid diagnoses, age when the treatment started, number of hospitalizations and duration of psychiatric treatment in years. Out of total number of participants, 12.6% of them attempted to commit suicide and 3.95% of participants repeated a suicide attempt. In the observed period, the highest number of suicide attempts took place in 2011 and the lowest number in 2014. Based on the obtained results, it was determined that participants more likely to attempt suicide were unmarried participants and participants using more than three medications during their schizophrenia treatment, including nitrazepam. Other risk factors included a greater number of hospitalizations, as well as borderline personality disorder in participants.