Suicide in adults released from prison in Queensland, Australia: a cohort study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated elevated mortality following release from prison. We contrasted the risk of opioid overdose death with the risk of suicide in a cohort of adults released from prison in Queensland, Australia over a 14-year-period. We examine risk factors for suicide in the cohort, and make comparisons with the general population.METHOD: We constructed a retrospective cohort of all adults released from prison between 1994 and 2007 and linked this to the National Death Index for deaths up to 31 December 2007.RESULTS: We identified 41 970 individuals released from prison. Of the 2158 deaths in the community, 371 were suicides (crude mortality rate (CMR) 13.7/10 000..