Another Suicider Kills Family First

Here.

Altitude an Independenat Risk Factor for Suicide

Add this risk factor to the expert review list. From the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Altitude, Gun Ownership, Rural Areas, and Suicide

Namkug Kim, Ph.D., Jennie B. Mickelson, B.S., Barry E. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., Charlotte A. Haws, B.S., Deborah A. Yurgelun-Todd, Ph.D., and Perry F. Renshaw, M.D., Ph.D.

From the Brain Institute of the University of Utah; VISN 19 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Health Care System; and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland.

Objective: The authors recently observed a correlation between state altitude and suicide rate in the United States, which could be explained by higher rates of gun ownership and lower population density in the intermountain West. The present study evaluated the relationship between mean county and state altitude in the United States and total age-adjusted suicide rates, firearm-related suicide rates, and non-firearm-related suicide rates. The authors hypothesized that altitude would be significantly associated with suicide rate. Method: Elevation data were calculated with an approximate spatial resolution of 0.5 km, using zonal statistics on data sets compiled from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Suicide and population density data were obtained through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database. Gun ownership data were obtained through the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Results: A significant positive correlation was observed between age-adjusted suicide rate and county elevation (r=0.51). Firearm (r=0.41) and non-firearm suicide rates (r=0.32) were also positively correlated with mean county elevation. Conclusions: When altitude, gun ownership, and population density are considered as predictor variables for suicide rates on a state basis, altitude appears to be a significant independent risk factor. This association may be related to the effects of metabolic stress associated with mild hypoxia in individuals with mood disorders.

Suicider Mass Murderer

Now he qualifies for an involuntary commitment. Thank the lawyer for this tragedy, including the needless death of the suicider.

Husband enraged over how his wife cooked his breakfast eggs kills her and four others in Kentucky shotgun rampage

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 7:15 PM on 12th September 2010

A man facing eviction over his terrible temper became so enraged by how his wife cooked his eggs that he killed her, his stepdaughter and three neighbours with a shotgun before turning the weapon on himself.

Dressed in his pyjamas, Stanley Neace, 47, went on the killing spree in a trailer park in Jackson, eastern Kentucky. The massacre happened at around 11.30am local time.

Neighbours in the roadside trailer park said Neace stormed across the lawns of several homes and fired dozens of shots from a 12-gauge pump shotgun.

Hospital Cleared of Malpractice After Discharged Patient Commits Suicide

1) Early discharge encouraged by involuntary commitment act.

2) Psychiatrist cannot held responsible for unpredictable patient behavior.

3) Patient had follow up care set up.

Hospital cleared in patient’s suicide

September 01, 2010, 01:43 AM By Michelle Durand Daily Journal Staff

San Mateo Medical Center is not responsible for a suicidal patient who killed herself after being discharged before the end of a 72-hour psychiatric hold, according to a state appellate court who upheld a previous ruling that the treating psychiatrist believed she no longer required care. The decision filed Aug. 30 holds that Dr. Mina Bak not only discharged Katherine Farley early because of her belief the woman would not harm herself but provided her referrals to other agencies for follow-up help. Farley was brought to the hospital at approximately 7:15 p.m. June 23, 2006 in an intoxicated state and voicing suicidal thoughts, according to court records. The emergency room doctor admitted her to the psychiatric ward where her medical history, including past suicide attempts, depression and alcohol abuse, were assessed. The following morning, she told Bak she was still depressed but denied any specific suicidal plan and said she would never harm herself because she was “too chicken” and had a young son. Bak discharged Farley at 2:40 p.m. June 24 and, at approximately 6 p.m. June 26, she committed suicide. The following August, Farley’s husband, Dave Monroe, and their son sued for medical malpractice, arguing the hospital staff failed to note the “seriousness of her condition and the danger she posed to herself,” did not give necessary care while she was still experiencing a psychiatric emergency and released her too early without instructions for treatment. The suit also alleged Farley was released early because of her inability to pay for medical services and economic status. In August 2008, the trial court agreed with the hospital that it was immune from liability.

Why Do Drug Compaaies and Researchers Neglect Suicide?

They are afraid of litigation. The lawsuit the lawyer claims is to prevent suicide in others prevents any advances in the prevention of suicide. Thank the lawyer for lack of progress in suicide prevention. Any jury awarding any verdict in a suicide claim must also be held responsible for this stagnation.

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Health

The Forgotten Patients

Robert Langreth and Rebecca Ruiz, 08.26.10, 11:20 AM EDT
Forbes Magazine dated September 13, 2010

The mental health industry ignores the 35,000 people a year who commit suicide. A few researchers are trying to change that.

Cyberbullying Suicider Had Ordinary Mental Health Problems

As usual, the self-dealing prosecutor compound the tragedy with their own publicity seeking agenda. These prosecutors should be prosecuted themselves. And I hope they are after the case is over.

"In January, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince killed herself after being bullied at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. Six students have been criminally charged in connection with her death; their cases go to court in September. Last month, I wrote a long article explaining why the story of Phoebe's death is more complicated than the narrative that had taken hold in the media—that Phoebe had been tortured for months by a pack of mean girls. I argued that the serious and unusual felony charges brought against the six teens represent prosecutorial overreach, given that Phoebe had mental health troubles before the bullying began, that she was caught up in conflicts that other South Hadley kids saw as "normal girl drama," and that the bullying, while wrong, was not the "relentless" three-month campaign the district attorney described."

Top Model Suicide

Nick Pisa

Police are investigating the death of a top male model found dead just hours ahead of the start of Milan Men's Fashion Week.

Catwalk star Tom Nicon, 22, died instantly after falling four floors from an apartment window in the centre of the Italian fashion capital.

French model Nicon worked for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Hugo Boss and had just returned from a Versace rehearsal before he was found dead.

'Suicide': Tom Nicon had recently split from his girlfriend, a police source said

Police in Milan said today they were treating the death as suicide and investigating suggestions he had suffered from a ''complicated affair of love.''

A police source in Milan said: 'We have spoken to the friends he was staying with and they have told us that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend and was depressed.''