Domingo 4 de marzo del 2007 Radio Isla 1320 4PM
Panel de expertos de VAMOS A CRECER
Ramon Parrilla, MD
Olga Ayala, PhD
Suicide Prevention Day – Thursday, March 1, 2007
ALGUNAS REFERENCIAS IMPORTANTES
Familial Pathways to Suicidal Behavior — Understanding and Preventing Suicide among Adolescents
David A. Brent, M.D., and J. John Mann, M.D.
A 16-year-old boy whose brother recently committed suicide is seen in the emergency room after slashing his wrists. He reports having felt severely depressed and hopeless since his brother died and has markedly increased his alcohol intake. His depression actually began 4 years ago, after the death of his father, and has continued unabated. The patient has a history of being disciplined for fighting in school, usually after being teased or provoked by his peers. Immediately before his suicide attempt, he had a fight with his girlfriend, his mood plummeted, and he decided that he might as well be dead.
New England Journal of Medicine Volume 355:2719-2721 December 28, 2006 Number 26
Assessment and Treatment of Suicidal Patients
Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, M.D., and James M. Russell, M.D.
The assessment of suicidal thoughts or behavior and its management are topics relevant to all clinicians, not just mental health professionals. Up to two thirds of patients who commit suicide have seen a physician in the month before their death.1,2,3,4,5 Many patients who kill themselves do so by taking an overdose of prescribed medications, and physicians sometimes unwittingly provide the means for suicide in a single prescription.3 Few patients spontaneously report their suicidal thoughts and intentions to their physicians,4 so the clinician must be alert to signals that a
New England Journal of Medicine Volume 355:2719-2721
Volume 337:910-915 September 25, 1997 Number 13
(Para la versión en ingles véase abajo.)
Día de la Prevención del Suicidio – Jueves, 1 de marzo de 2007
Todos podemos ayudar en la prevención del suicidio…
¿Sabe cuáles son las estadísticas de muerte por suicidio? ¿Cuáles son los factores de riesgo y de protección contra el suicidio?
Estadísticas
El suicidio es un problema de salud pública muy serio. Suicidio fue la octava causa de muerte en varones, la decimasexta en mujeres y la tercera entre jóvenes (15 a 24 años) en los Estados Unidos durante el año 2004. La taza general para ese mismo año fue de 10.9 muertes por cada 100,000 individuos. En Puerto Rico (entre los años de 1955 y 1992) la taza de muertes por suicidio varió entre las cifras de 7.8 a 11.2 individuos por cada 100,000 habitantes. Casi cuatro veces mas hombres que mujeres mueren por suicidio a pesar de que las mujeres informan mas intentos suicidas que los hombres. El uso de armas de fuego, sofocación y envenenamiento son los métodos mas frecuentemente utilizados para cometer suicidio. El uso de armas de fuego es por mucho mas frecuente en los hombres que en las mujeres.
Factores de Riesgo
Un factor de riesgo suicida es algo que aumenta las posibilidades de que alguien se haga daño a si mismo(a). A continuación algunos de los factores de riesgo conocidos:
Intentos de suicidios previos.
Historial de desórdenes o enfermedades mentales.
Historial de abuso de alcohol o drogas.
Historial familiar de suicidio.
Historial familiar de abuso.
Tendencias impulsivas o agresivas.
Barreras de acceso a servicios de salud mental.
Pérdidas (relaciones sociales, de trabajo, o financieras).
Enfermedad física (particularmente, las enfermedades terminales).
Accesibilidad a armas letales.
Aislamiento.
Factores de Protección
La investigación también ha identificado factores que protegen de los riesgos asociados al riesgo suicida, descritos anteriormente. ¿Hay alguno de éstos que le suena familiar?
Tratamiento efectivo para las condiciones de salud mental, física y de abuso de sustancias.
Acceso a una variedad de intervenciones clínicas.
Apoyo de la familia y de la comunidad.
Adquisición de destrezas para la solución de problemas, manejo de conflicto, y otros métodos para resolver disputas, de forma no violenta.
Creencias culturales y religiosas que desalienten el suicidio y promuevan la auto-preservación.
We can all help in preventing suicide…
Do you know what the statistics of death by suicide are? What are the suicide risk and protective factors?
Statistics
Suicide is a serious public health problem. Suicide was the eight leading cause of death for males, the sixteenth for females, and the third among young people (ages 15 to 24) in the US for year 2004. The overall rate for that same year was 10.9 deaths per 100,000 people. In Puerto Rico (from 1955 to 1992) the rate of death by suicide had ranged from 7.8 to 11.2 individuals per 100,000 inhabitants. Almost four times as many males as females die by suicide even though females report more attempts than men. Firearms, suffocation, and poisoning are by far the most common methods of suicide. The use of firearms is more frequent in males than in females.
Risk Factors
A suicide risk factor is something that increases the likelihood that someone harms him or herself. Here are some of the known risk factors:
Previous suicidal attempts.
History of mental disorders.
History of alcohol or drug abuse.
Family history of suicide.
Family history of abuse.
Impulsive or aggressive tendencies.
Barriers to access mental health treatment.
Loss (relational, social, work, or financial).
Physical illness (particularly, terminal illnesses).
Easy access to lethal weapons.
Isolation
Protective FactorsResearch has also identified factors that protect people from the risks associated with suicide, previously mentioned. Do some of these sound familiar?
Effective clinical care for mental, physical, and substance abuse.
Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions.
Family and community support.
Acquisition of skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, and other nonviolent means to handle disputes.
Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation.
The above was extracted with minor modifications from DHHS, 1999 and CDC 2004.
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Lo anterior fue extraído, con modificaciones mínimas, de DHHS, 1999 y CDC 2004.
(Gracias a los servicios de Psicologia, Trabajo Social y Psiquiatria del Hospital de Veteranos de San Juan, Puerto Rico por recopilar esta informacion de prevencion).
(La comunicacion telefonica celular con el Dr. Antonio Sanchez, Jefe de Psiquiatria de Veteranos no se pudo lograr durante este programa).
Nestor J Galarza, MD
moderador de Vamos a Crecer y productor de esta pagina de servicio publico
