Frequency and clinical features of pervasive developmental disorder in adolescent suicide attempts

Objective: The goal of this clinical study was to examine the frequency and clinical features of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) relative to suicide attempts by adolescents. Method: Ninety-four adolescent patients tinder age 20 participated in this study; it was a consecutive study of individuals who had attempted suicide and had been hospitalized for inpatient treatment. Results: Twelve of the 94 subjects (12.8%) were diagnosed with PDD. The ratio of males in the PDD group was higher than that in the non-PDD group (P=.017). There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the rate of patients having mood or anxiety disorder (P=.037). Conclusion: This study indicates that PDD should always be a consideration when dealing with adolescent suicide attempts. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.