Prevalence of cocaine use among residents of New York city who committed suicide during a one-year period (1992)

FRANÇAIS :
Une étude a été conduite à New York sur un an, d'après les rapports d'autopsie, pour déterminer les conditions de suicide des personnes de moins de 61 ans (caractéristiques démographiques, modalités du suicide et surtout éventuelle consommation de cocaïne et d'alcool au moment de la mort). Dans 1 cas sur 5, il y a effectivement eu utilisation de cocaïne. La prévalence de l'usage de cocaïne chez les jeunes hispaniques est de 45%. Enfin les personnes jeunes, noires ou hispaniques et ayant utilisé de l'alcool juste avant la mort, étaient aussi la plupart du temps cocaïnomanes. Malgré ces résultats, des études complémentaires sont nécessaires pour conclure que la cocaïne est un des facteurs de risque de suicide.
ENGLISH :
Individual reviews of the autopsy and toxicological records of all persons under the age of 61 who had committed suicide in the city during a 1-year period were conducted to determine demographic characteristics, suicide methods, and cocaine and alcohol use at the time of death. In one of every five cases studied, the person who committed suicide had used cocaine within days of his or her death. The prevalence of cocaine use among young Hispanic males who committed suicide was 45%. Persons who were young, black, or Hispanic and who had used alcohol immediately before the fatal injury were most likely to have been recent cocaine users. These results suggest a high prevalence of cocaine use in the days immediately preceding death by young persons who commit suicide in New York city. Additional studies are needed to determine how cocaine may act as a risk factor for suicide. (Extract from the author's abstract)