| 1. |
- Bäckstrom, Björn, et al.
(author)
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Injury-Related Healthcare Use and Risk of Filicide Victimization : A Population-Based Case-Control Study
- 2019
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In: Journal of Forensic Sciences. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0022-1198 .- 1556-4029. ; 64:1, s. 166-170
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research on child‐related risk factors for filicide is scant. We investigated whether prior healthcare use for injury (including poisoning) influences filicide risk. Victims (0–14 years; n = 71) were identified in a national autopsy database for the years 1994–2012 and compared to matched, general population controls (n = 355). Healthcare use data were retrieved from a national patient registry. Risks were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For females, prior inpatient care for injury conferred a statistically significant sevenfold risk (OR = 6.67 [95% CI: 1.49–29.79]), and any prior injury‐related healthcare use conferred a statistically significant fourfold risk (OR = 3.57 [95% CI: 1.13–11.25]), of filicide victimization. No statistically significant risks were found for males. Healthcare personnel should be aware that children treated for injuries, especially females, may be at an elevated risk of filicide victimization. Nevertheless, the filicide base rate remains low, and parents may be stigmatized by unfounded alerts; thus, prudent reflection should precede reports to the authorities.
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| 2. |
- Forsman, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and the risk of violent suicide: a nationwide postmortem study
- 2019
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In: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. - : SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. - 0031-6970 .- 1432-1041. ; 75:3, s. 393-400
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeWe endeavored to investigate whether previous findings of an association between antemortem exposure to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) and method of suicide could be replicated.MethodsUsing the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicines toxicology database and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfares national registries of causes of death and prescriptions, 10,002 incidents of suicide were retrieved. Risks of violent suicide conferred by SSRIs, expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were estimated using logistic regression. In accordance with previous work, suicide by violent meanscaseswere defined as death attributable to causes designated by ICD-10 codes X70-X83 and Y20-Y33; and suicide by non-violent meanscontrolsby codes X60-X69 and Y10-Y19.ResultsOur results imply that SSRI exposure confers a risk of violent suicide for shorter treatment durations; and that antemortem exposure to other substances (including illegal drugs) confounds estimates of risk. After adjustment for age, sex, and other substances, SSRIs treatment not exceeding 28days conferred an almost fourfold risk of violent suicide (OR 3.6 [95% CI 1.9-6.8]), a finding partly in line with a recent Swedish study that employed a case-crossover design.ConclusionsAlthough risks associated with shorter treatment duration may reflect latencies to onset of therapeutic effect, it is unclear how latencies would influence the choice of suicide method, unless conditions for which SSRIs are prescribed are themselves associated with violent suicide. Finally, in the total dataset, SSRIs were not associated with an increased risk of violent suicide; however, by adjusting for other substances, we avoided the spurious conclusion that the effect of medications in this regard is protective.
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| 3. |
- Hedlund, Jonatan, et al.
(author)
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Intra- and extra-familial child homicide in Sweden 1992-2012 : A population-based study
- 2016
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In: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1752-928X .- 1878-7487. ; 39, s. 91-99
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies have shown decreasing child homicide rates in many countries - in Sweden mainly due to a drop in filicideesuicides. This study examines the rate of child homicides during 21 years, with the hypothesis that a decline might be attributable to a decrease in the number of depressive filicide offenders (as defined by a proxy measure). In addition, numerous characteristics of child homicide are presented. All homicide incidents involving 0e14-year-old victims in Sweden during 1992-2012 (n = 90) were identified in an autopsy database. Data from multiple registries, forensic psychiatric evaluations, police reports, verdicts and other sources were collected. Utilizing Poisson regression, we found a 4% annual decrease in child homicides, in accordance with prior studies, but no marked decrease regarding the depressive-offender proxy. Diagnoses from forensic psychiatric evaluations (n = 50) included substance misuse (8%), affective disorders (10%), autism-spectrum disorders (18%), psychotic disorders (28%) and personality disorders (30%). Prior violent offences were more common among offenders in filicides than filicideesuicides (17.8% vs. 6.9%); and about 20% of offenders in each group had previously received psychiatric inpatient care. Aggressive methods of filicide predominated among fathers. Highly lethal methods of filicide (firearms, fire) were more commonly followed by same-method suicide than less lethal methods. Interestingly, a third of the extra-familial offenders had an autism-spectrum disorder. Based on several findings, e.g., the low rate of substance misuse, the study concludes that nontraditional risk factors for violence must be highlighted by healthcare providers. Also, the occurrence of autism-spectrum disorders in the present study is a novel finding that warrants further investigation.
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