Traditional risk factors for suicide attempt are alcohol and drug abuse, depression, schizophrenia, unemployment, sociopathy, hostility and living alone [17]. A cross sectional WHO survey involving 21 countries and using similar DSM-IV criteria as the current report identified anxiety, mood, impulse conduct disorders, including ADHD, and substance use disorders such as alcohol use and dependency, drug abuse and dependency, but not tobacco use, as associated with suicide attempt [29]. Cross sectional analysis of the Wave 2 of the NESARC data found depressive disorder, borderline personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and nicotine dependence as the mental disorders most strongly associated with suicide attempt [18]. The prospective study from Finland identified the same demographic predictors as the current analysis: younger age, female gender, low socioeconomic level, and living alone, and also that suicide attempt risk was higher among both current smokers and ex-smokers than among non-smokers both in men and women [21].
