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1.A 17-year-old African American girl comes to the clinicfor a precollege health checkup. She reports no current symptoms and states she has generally been well. As an adolescent she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder after a prolonged period of depressive symptoms and a suicidal gesture.At that time, approximately 4 years ago, she was started on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that helped her immensely. She discontinued her medication approximately 1 year ago and has been well since then. She denies any current neuropsychiatric symptoms. Her examination is unremarkable, appropriate vaccinations and laboratory studies are ordered, and she is given a clean bill of health. Later in
the day the patient™s mother calls. She is concerned about her daughter™s risk for recurrent depression and suicide, which she has heard is a growing trend in the college-age population. There is a family history of suicide, and the mother is concerned that this may place her daughter at a high risk. She wonders if she should arrange to have the young woman seen by a psychiatrist while at college. Given this patient™s presentation, which of the following is her greatest risk factor for dying from suicide?
(A) Family history
(B) Female sex
© Psychiatric illness
(D) Suicidal gesture
(E) Young age

D

DDD. it can't go wrong. This is the intellectual dance I was referring to.

agreed, but not 100% confident.

may be 99%

close enough, 1%

D --- let the ball rolling........april17

ans is C. By far the strongest predictor of suicide is a hx of psychiatric illness. 95% of patients who die from suicide have a psychiatric hx (commonly, depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia), whereas 90% of suicide attempts occur in patients with psychiatric disease.
- old persons attempt & suceed more.
-Female attempt 4 time more than male, but male r 3 times more successful in killing themselves.
-Previous suicide attempts and gestures (choice D) are a major risk factor for future suicide ATTEMPTs.

I am not satisfied April. But thanks.

What do you have to say now? hemonc007.

ericz, what is the 88 about in your name. It looks funny. The answer C seems more reasonable. I was lucky that I did not bet a soul on that.