Suicide Attempts and Their Correlates in Female Inpatients with Schizophrenia: A Cross-sectional Study in China

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for both recent and lifetime suicide attempts among female inpatients with schizophrenia. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted involving 201 female in-patients. Data on demographics, clinical characteristics, and suicide attempts were collected. History of suicide attempts was ascertained from reports from both partici-pants and their family members. Psychometric assessments included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA). Laboratory parameters were ob-tained from baseline blood samples collected at admission. Multivariate logistic re-gression was used to identify independent risk factors. Results: 11.44% of participants attempted suicide within one month prior to admission, and 21.39% reported a lifetime history of suicide attempts. Multivariate analysis revealed that previous suicide at-tempts (OR=6.45, 95% CI: 2.27–18.34, p< 0.001), with delusions of being controlled (OR=4.60, 95% CI: 1.46–14.52, p=0.009) and HAMA score (OR=1.15, 95% CI: 1.06–1.26, p=0.001) were independent risk factors for recent suicide attempts. For lifetime at-tempts, being married (OR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.02–4.62, p=0.045), HAMA score (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.04–1.19, p=0.003), and PANSS total score (OR=1.02, 95% CI: 1.003–1.04, p=0.025) were independent risk factors. Conclusion: Suicide attempts are prevalent among female inpatients with schizophrenia. The findings highlight the critical role of specific clinical symptoms over demographic factors. Routine assessment and targeted management of these symptoms are essential for enhancing suicide prevention strate-gies in this high-risk population.