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- Title
Elderly in the Pandemic: Depression and a Suicide Attempt, a Case Report.
- Authors
Salleh Sahimi, Hajar Mohd; Midin, Marhani; Yn Lim, Jane Tze; Ariffin Anwar, Mohd Wafiy; Abdul Samad, Farah Deena; Mohamad Kamal, Nurul Ain
- Abstract
Elderly individuals are among those with the highest risk of suicide. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forces isolation and causes an increased risk of depression, hopelessness, and perceived burdensomeness among the elderly. This, hence, increases the risk of suicide. This is a case report of an elderly single retired school principal with obsessive-compulsive personality traits who developed depression after being isolated during the COVID pandemic's movement restriction order (MCO). The social isolation led to depressive symptoms such as feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. However, he only started seeing a psychiatrist one and a half years later. The patient's depressive symptoms worsened after he developed physical illnesses, such as eye floaters, affecting his daily activities. This caused him to have suicidal ideation, so he attempted suicide by ingesting 90 ml of pesticide. Two weeks before that, he attempted to update his will and ask his friend to keep it. After the attempt, he vomited, had diarrhoea and epigastric pain, and called his friend, who brought him to the Emergency Room (ER). He was resuscitated and subsequently admitted to the Intensive care unit (ICU). He was eventually transferred to the psychiatric ward and received psychiatric treatment, such as antidepressants. This case report highlighted the psychological impact of social isolation during COVID-19 and other factors that may contribute to difficulty with psychiatric care among the elderly during the pandemic, such as stigma, poor social support, poor physical health, and easy access to lethal means of suicide. Suicide in the elderly population is a multifaceted phenomenon. Given the heightened risk in this age group, a more comprehensive screening, prevention, and management plan should focus more on elderly people.
- Subjects
ATTEMPTED suicide; COVID-19 pandemic; OLDER people; SUICIDE risk factors; PSYCHOLOGICAL factors; CORONAVIRUS diseases; LONELINESS
- Publication
Malaysian Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences, 2023, Vol 19, p139
- ISSN
1675-8544
- Publication type
Article