Introduction:

suicidal behavior is one of the first five causes of mortality worldwide and is defined as any act committed to the detriment of the person who executes it, regardless of the degree of lethality.

Objective:

to describe some risk factors associated with suicidal behavior in the elderly.

Methods:

a descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study was carried out at "Octavio de la Concepción y la Pedraja" Polyclinic from Camajuaní municipality. The population consisted of all elderly patients, classified as a risk of suicidal behavior (140). A review of the medical records was carried out; a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, a psycho-affective scale and observation techniques were applied.

Results:

the age of the elderly with suicidal behavior is similar to those who do not, Mann-Whitney U Test Z = -1.008 and p = 0.313, m; marital status and suicidal behavior have a moderately significant relationship with male gender p = 0.08, and very significant for female gender p = 0.000. The relationship is statistically significant for depression and previous attempts, and highly significant for couple problems (55.2%) and family problems (51.7%). When relating the severity of the circumstances and the seriousness of the intention, it was null for hanging (55.6%) and few for dissection of blood vessels (50%).

Conclusions:

depression, previous attempts and drug dependence were among the associated risk factors; drug intake in women predominated between the mild or low-lethal methods, as well as, hanging and poisoning predominated in male gender among the hard methods.