Impulsivity: a relevant dimension in depression regarding suicide attempts?

Background. This study focuses on clinical impulsivity in depressed patients, regarding suicide attempts. Methods. Fifty depressed in-patients were assessed for impulsivity with the Impulsivity Rating Scale and the Baratt Impulsivity Scale, at admission (WO) and after 4 weeks of treatment (W4), with special attention to suicide attempts. Results. In the whole sample, impulsivity scores decreased significantly between WO and W4. The scale and the questionnaire correlated slightly with each other, suggesting some differences in impulsivity assessment between patients and clinicians. The two subgroups of patients, suicide attempters (SA) (n = 16) and non-suicide attempters (NSA) (n = 34), were different neither in terms of sample characteristics and antidepressant treatments nor in terms of depression and general psychopathology assessments. However, SA patients scored higher on the impulsivity scale and questionnaire than NSA patients, both at WO and W4. These results suggest first that impulsivity may be both a trait and a state in depressed suicide attempters and second that it may be relevant in terms of suicide attempts in depression. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.