Schizophrenia behind nearly 12% of suicide cases: Study
Toronto, June 23 : Nearly 12 per cent of all suicide cases involves a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which affects one's ability to think clearly, finds a study.
The findings suggested that those with schizophrenia who died were also more likely to be younger, with one in five between the ages of 25 and 34 compared to just one in 10 in the non-schizophrenia group.
"This is shocking. We need to emphasise the importance of assessing the risk of suicide in younger patients with schizophrenia, particularly early in the course of illness," said lead author Juveria Zaheer from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's (CAMH) in Canada.
In the study, published in the journal Schizophrenia Research, the team analysed data from 5,650 suicide cases in Ontario, Canada.
They found that, 663 cases that is 11.7 per cent of the entire sample had schizophrenia-related diagnosis.
While the study is mainly focused on the population from Ontario in Canada, the "finding points to an opportunity to intervene, and raises the question of whether there's a role for a suicide risk assessment and management with every young person with schizophrenia," Zaheer added.
Assessments may not be top of mind among clinicians, who are focused on managing their patients' hallucinations and delusions, she notes.
But because younger people with schizophrenia are engaged with the health care system, clinicians do need to be more vigilant about the risk of suicide in these patients.
However, the reasons why a person takes their life can vary substantially, Zaheer said.
Suicide risks might be different for those with schizophrenia compared to those with other illnesses, and looking at patterns across a population is one way to identify these risks, the research suggested.
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KSRTC introduces gender ticketing in buses across Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The KSRCTC on Saturday began implementing gender ticketing in buses operating across the state.
According to a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) circular issued on Friday, the gender ticketing system is intended to record whether a passenger is a woman, a man or a child in tickets issued on KSRTC buses from Saturday.
To facilitate the system, Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) have been updated.
The circular stated that conductors in all KSRTC depots should record the gender category of passengers while issuing tickets through the ETMs.
Options for women, men, and children have been included in the ETMs to identify passenger categories when issuing tickets.
The printed tickets generated by the ETMs will also indicate the passenger's category, officials said.
The UDF had promised free KSRTC travel for women across the state during the Assembly election campaign.
UDF, which won 102 of 140 seats, would soon form the government after the Congress party finalises the discussion on the next Chief Minister.
The introduction of gender ticketing is being viewed as an effort to estimate the number of women travelling daily on KSRTC buses before implementing the poll promise.
Some conductors have reportedly raised concerns over the additional time required to record passenger details, especially during rush hours.
