"Gray murder": characteristics of elderly compared with nonelderly homicide victims in New York City.

OBJECTIVES: We compared characteristics of homicides among New York City residents aged 18 years and older from 1990 to 1998 to determine differences in demographics, cause and place of death, and presence of illicit drugs and alcohol in the deceased's system. METHODS: All medical examiner-certified homicides among New York City residents aged 18 years and older from 1990 to 1998 were studied (n = 11,850). Nonelderly (aged 18 to 64 years) and elderly (aged 65 years and older) victims were compared by gender, race/ethnicity, cause of death, place of death, and presence of illicit drugs or alcohol. Population-based homicide rates stratified by age, gender, and race were also calculated. RESULTS: Nonelderly homicide victims were significantly more likely to be male, non-White, to have been shot in the city streets, and to have evidence of illicit drug or alcohol use. Elderly victims were more likely to be female, White, to have been killed by nonfirearm injuries, and to have been killed in their own homes. The gender and race differences between age groups remained but were attenuated when population-based rates were compared. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of homicide in nonelderly adults do not apply to elderly adults in New York City. Demographic factors and vulnerabilities of the elderly may underlie these differences, pointing to the need for oversight of isolated or homebound elderly persons and for protective interventions.

Depression with versus without manic features in rapid-cycling bipolar disorder.

Depression has been identified as a hallmark feature of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, although less attention has been paid to the presence of manic features accompanying depression in rapid cyclers. To provide greater information about the extent to which depression arises with or without salient manic features in rapid cycling, we conducted a preliminary study of rapid cycling in outpatients seeking treatment at an academic specialty center for bipolar disorder. Forty DSM-IV affectively symptomatic bipolar outpatients with past year DSM-IV rapid cycling underwent systematic evaluation of symptoms and illness characteristics. Manic and depressive symptoms, treatments, and clinical features were rated by standardized scales. Major depression was present in most rapid cyclers (85%), but salient manic features were also evident in half of all depressed rapid cyclers. A lifetime history of suicide attempts was significantly more common in rapid cyclers who presented with major depression plus salient manic features than in those who presented with pure depression or pure mania (p = .033). Antidepressants were being prescribed for approximately one third of depressed rapid cycling patients regardless of the presence of concomitant manic features, whereas mood stabilizers tended to be used less often when manic features accompanied depression. Depression in conjunction with manic symptoms, rather than pure depression alone, may be more common among rapid-cycling bipolar patients who seek treatment. Lifetime suicide risk may be greater among rapid cycling patients whose depression occurs in tandem with manic symptoms. Prescribing habits in the community that favor antidepressants over mood stabilizers may promote further mood destabilization in this population. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to affirm these provisional findings.