Long-term suicide risk of depression in the Lundby cohort 1947-1997 - severity and gender.

Objective: The long-term suicide risk of depression was evaluated in a community sample by severity and gender. Method: The Lundby study is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study on a population consisting of 3563 subjects. In 1947-1997 medium or severe depression according to the Lundby diagnostic system were registered in 503 subjects. The same subjects were also diagnosed according to DSM-IV showing major depressive disorder (MDD) in 293 and depressive disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS) in 131 subjects. Results: The overall long-term suicide risk varied from 5.6% to 6.8%. The long-term suicide risk was 3.1% for medium and 11.4% for severe 'Lundby depression', 3.7% for medium and 13.8% for severe MDD + DDNOS, 3.1% for medium and 13.7% for severe MDD. Severity and male sex were risk factors for suicide. Conclusion: Males with a severe depression showed a high long-term risk for suicide, around 20%.