Holocaust survivors are prone to suicidal thoughts, says a U of T study recently published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

The study analyzed 530 Jewish seniors treated at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care from 1986 to 2000 who were suffering from depression. The one third of the subjects who were Holocaust survivors were 87 per cent more likely to ponder committing suicide.

The research was conducted by Diana Clarke, a Ph.D student involved with public health sciences and the collaborative program in human development. She pointed out in her 2001 thesis how the Holocaust is a traumatic event that could have promoted chronic stress and psychological problems.

“Understanding the relationship between suicide ideation and Holocaust experience may help in earlier diagnosis and treatment of suicidal behaviors in high-risk older adults,” she wrote.

At the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, training programs are in place for professionals of all disciplines to help World War II survivors.

Even though suicidal thoughts and depression might have occurred earlier in life, the chances of committing suicide are greater when health declines and the body becomes more fragile with old age. Health care professionals and caregivers should be on the alert for growing numbers of Holocaust survivors who experience these suicidal thoughts.

“Because most people who survived the Holocaust were young adults, we have more Holocaust survivors entering old age than ever before,” says Paula David, the coordinator of the Holocaust Resource Project.

She explains the impact of the genocide has presented challenges for the elderly as they cope with new changes. “It is difficult for these survivors-as they have been called throughout their lives-to survive through so much in situations where others have died, and yet not survive old age.”

This study of Holocaust survivors can also be applied to survivors of other traumatic events.

A new book, Caring for Aging Holocaust Survivors: A Practice Manual was launched this Wednesday as a response to the growing psychiatric problems arising in the Holocaust survivor community. The book focuses on helping professionals and family members care for holocaust survivors who deal with depression and dementia. This book is one of the first of its kind.

Edited by Paula David and Sandi Pelly, the book is a mosaic of case studies, statistics, and stories from researchers, medical staff, patients, survivors, and their family members.

Francine Klein, a child of Holocaust survivors, made a touching speech at the book launch about how important it was to be sensitive to the aging problem. “We [the children of the Holocaust survivors] know that regardless of the circumstances, we would protect our parents from everything-from worry, from fear, from loneliness. But we cannot protect them from aging.”