Suicide

Suicide, suicidal thoughts, and thoughts of death are an established component of MDD.¹

Attempting to synthesize the research into suicide and mental disorders, Harris and Barraclough identified 249 publications from 1966–1993 and compared the observed suicide rates with the expected rate, calculating a standardised mortality rate (SMR) for each disorder studied.² Of the 44 disorders studied, 36 had a significantly raised SMR for suicide, meaning that many mental disorders had an increased risk of suicide.² The MDD population in the analysis consisted of >8,000 patients, across 23 publications.² The risk of suicide in the MDD population was 20 times greater than expected.²

References:

1.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th Edition – Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). © American Psychiatric Association, 2022.

2.Harris EC, Barraclough B. Suicide as an outcome for mental disorders. A meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry 1997; 170: 205–228.

3.Lagerberg T, Fazel S, Sjölander A, et al. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and suicidal behaviour: a population-based cohort study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47 (4): 817–823.

4.Brent DA. Antidepressants and suicidality. Psychiatr Clin North Am 2016; 39 (3): 503–512.

5.Hawton K, Lascelles K, Pitman A, et al. Assessment of suicide risk in mental health practice: shifting from prediction to therapeutic assessment, formulation, and risk management. Lancet Psychiatry 2022; 9 (11): 922–928.