RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Increased rate of suicide among patients with Huntington's disease. JF Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 1283 OP 1287 DO 10.1136/jnnp.47.12.1283 VO 47 IS 12 A1 M Schoenfeld A1 R H Myers A1 L A Cupples A1 B Berkman A1 D S Sax A1 E Clark YR 1984 UL http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/47/12/1283.abstract AB The proportion of deaths attributed to suicide was examined among 506 deceased individuals with diagnosed or suspected Huntington's Disease from New England USA. Comparison of this proportion with that of the general population indicated that the odds of a death being due to suicide in the Huntington's disease group is 8.2 times that of the Massachusetts population for persons aged 50 to 69 yr, but no difference appears in the 10 to 49 yr age group. Among the 157 Huntington's disease patients for whom cause of death was known, the corresponding odds estimates are 23.0 for the 50 to 69 yr age group and 2.7 for the 10 to 49 yr age group. More than half of the suicides occurred in individuals who showed early signs of the illness but who had not been diagnosed, suggesting that suicide may occur more frequently in the early stages of the illness.