Mnemonic for risk factors for suicide: SAD PERSONS

Mnemonic for risk factors for suicide: SAD PERSONS:

Sex - male
Age, older than 45 years
Depression

Previous attempts
Ethanol - alcohol abuse
Rational thought - evidence of rational plan
Sick - presence of illness
Organized plan
No spouse
Social support lacking

Suicide is second to only accidental death as the leading cause of mortality in young men across the world. High-lethality methods of suicide are preferred by young men: hanging and firearms in high-income countries, pesticide poisoning in the Indian subcontinent, and charcoal-burning in east Asia (Lancet, 2012).

Mnemonic author: V. Dimov, M.D.