Suicide prevention efforts need to be more sustained
Dr. David Juurlink, a scientist in the Evaluative Clinical Sciences Platform at Sunnybrook Research Institute, explains the implications of his latest study examining the risk of suicide following deliberate self-poisoning. The study followed 65,784 patients who were discharged after a first self-poisoning episode. Over a three- to seven-year follow-up period, the risk of suicide was much higher among those who had attempted self-poisoning than among age- and gender-matched controls. These findings highlight the need for sustained suicide prevention efforts for high-risk groups, such as those surviving a first self-poisoning.
