When Does the Daily Hazard Rate for Committing Suicide Stabilize in Psychiatric Outpatients?

To ascertain whether the daily hazard risk rate for committing suicide by psychiatric outpatients stabilizes over time, a parametric survival analysis was calculated for the 6,891 outpatients who were followed by Brown, Beck, Steer, and Grisham. Approximately 3¼ years after a patient's initial evaluation, the daily hazard rate leveled off and dropped below the hazard rate that would occur if a constant (exponential) daily hazard rate were assumed. The cost-effectiveness of conducting follow-up studies to identify suicidal risk factors in psychiatric outpatients beyond three years was questioned.