Study: Factors that increase the risk of suicide

A large-scale study of US specialists discovered a genetic link between factors affecting physical and psychological health and attempted suicide.

Scientists’ research results published in the scientific journal American Journal of Psychiatry. How tells MedicalXpress, it was conducted by American specialists from the Huntsman Institute of Mental Health, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Duke University School of Medicine, the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Factors that increase suicidality include impulsivity, chronic pain, smoking, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and heart and lung disease.

Scientists analyzed genetic data from 22 populations around the world, people of different ethnicities. A team of specialists studied 43 thousand documented suicide attempts and more than 915 thousand cases with a genetic match. This is the largest genetic study of suicide. Study co-author Anna Docherty notes:

“In psychiatry we have a lot of tiny genetic effects, but when we factor them all together, we start to see a real signal of genetic risk.”

Scientists followed the coincidence of genetic variations in people with suicide attempts. The results demonstrated that The combination of genetic predisposition with other stressors—health conditions, life circumstances, or traumatic events—may increase the risk of suicide. Docherty says:

“If we can use genetic information to characterize the health risks of those attempting suicide, we can better identify patients in need of contact with the mental health care system.”

Understanding how suicide is linked to other diseases should lead to new diagnostic and treatment methods, she said.

Source link