Suicide and alcoholism: Distinguishing alcoholic patients with and without comorbid drug abuse

Psychological autopsy data were used to test the hypothesis that alcoholic patients with comorbid drug use disorders who committed suicide (A + D; n = 26) are distinguishable from alcoholic suicide victims without a comorbid drug use disorder (A; n = 35). Dependent variables included demographics, suicidal behavior, psychiatric symptoms, and medical illness burden. The A group were older, white, and tended to be living alone. Analyses that controlled for age and sex indicated that as were more likely to have had a comorbid major depression and less likely to tell someone they were contemplating suicide. Scores on a measure of illness burden increased with age among the A group but not the A + D group, though the latter were more likely to be under a physician's care with increasing age. These differences should be considered when designing preventive measures.