Table 2.

Sociodemographic, behavioural, and clinical characteristics of middle-aged males who died by suicide with a known recent GP consultation before suicide (n = 242)

Characteristic	Recent last GP consultation n (%) (n = 105)	Did not have recent last GP consultation, n (%) (n = 137)	P-value
Sociodemographic
Single	38 (36)	61 (45)	0.191
Unemployed	35 (33)	37 (27)	0.286
Living alone	49 (47)	60 (44)	0.656
Ethnic minority group	8 (8)	12 (9)	0.750
Behavioural
History of self-harm within 3 months of death	33 (31)	13 (9)	<0.001a
History of self-harm >3 months before death	23 (22)	38 (28)
History of suicidal thoughts	34 (32)	28 (20)	0.035b
History of alcohol misuse	37 (35)	51 (37)	0.750
History of drug misuse	33 (31)	41 (30)	0.802
Clinical
Major physical illness at time of death	54 (51)	46 (34)	0.005a
Respiratory disease	12 (11)	15 (11)	0.906
Chronic pain	13 (12)	9 (7)	0.119
Musculoskeletal disease	6 (6)	4 (3)	0.224c
Psychiatric diagnosis
Depressive or anxiety illness	42 (40)	39 (28)	0.060
Schizophrenia/delusional disorders	10 (10)	9 (7)	0.397
Alcohol or drug misuse	13 (12)	13 (9)	0.472
Reasons for last GP contact
Mental health or psychological problem	54 (51)	21 (15)	<0.001a
Alcohol and/or drug misuse	7 (7)	7 (5)	0.607
Outcome at last GP consult
GP consultation only	35 (33)	29 (21)	0.033b
Referral	22 (21)	10 (7)	0.002a
Last emergency department attendance within 3 months	23 (22)	12 (9)	0.004a
Social events in the 3 months before suicide
Separation from partner	24 (23)	24 (18)	0.302
Social isolation	14 (13)	10 (7)	0.120
Recent work-related problems (including on sick leave)	30 (29)	15 (11)	<0.001a
In debt	17 (16)	18 (13)	0.504

^a P<0.01.

^b P<0.05.

^c One-sided Fisher’s exact test.