New Prediction Risk Score developed by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists may help clinicians better identify patients at risk for suicidal behavior and intervene earlier. The findings are published in JAMA Psychiatry.
"Predicting suicidal behavior is one of the most challenging tasks in psychiatry, but for an outcome that is so life-threatening, it is definitely not acceptable that we're only doing slightly better than chance," said senior author Nadine Melhem, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Pitt's School of Medicine and a researcher at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.
Suicide
Suicide is an act of ending one''s own life and it usually results from emotional isolations and inability to adjust and cope with one''s environment.
Advertisement
‘When treating patients, clinicians must pay particular attention to the severity of current and past depressive symptoms and try to reduce their severity and fluctuations to decrease suicide risk. ’
Tweet it Now
Physicians rely heavily on psychiatric diagnoses when estimating suicide risk, but though they are quite useful, diagnoses alone don't do a great job because they are labels that often don't change. Instead, Melhem wanted to develop a predictive model that would identify symptoms that can change over time because such a model, she surmised, would be more accurate at signaling the likelihood of suicidal behavior in at-risk young adults.
In the study, Melhem along with her colleagues David Brent, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Pitt's School of Medicine, and John Mann, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, followed 663 young adults who were at high risk for suicidal behavior because their parents had been diagnosed with mood disorders. Over 12 years, the parents and their children were periodically evaluated through standard assessments for psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms of depression, hopelessness, irritability, impulsivity, aggression and impulsive aggression.
![Quiz on Depression]( "Quiz on Depression")
The World Health Organization reports that depression is one of the main causes of disability affecting about 121 million people worldwide. More tragically, it claims around 850,000 lives every year. Hence, it is important that we understand this affliction to help ourselves or our loved ones to cope and, hopefully, resolve it. How well do you know the facts about depression? Take this quiz and f
After analyzing data for all these symptoms, the researchers found that having severe depressive symptoms and a high variability of those symptoms over time was the most accurate predictor of suicidal behavior. The severity and variability in impulsivity and aggression over time did not add to the prediction model.
Combining this measure of variability in depressive symptoms along with other relevant factors such as younger age, mood disorders, childhood abuse, and personal and parental history of suicide attempts, Melhem and her team developed a Prediction Risk Score. They concluded that a score of 3 or more of these risk factors indicated a higher risk for suicidal behavior. Using this threshold in the study population, they found the predictive test to be 87 percent sensitive, much better than currently available models.
The model has to be independently tested and replicated in different populations, and future research to include objective biological markers will be needed to make the Prediction Risk Score more accurate, notes Melhem.
"The Prediction Risk Score is a valuable addition to the physician's toolkit to help predict suicide risk in high-risk individuals, and it can be done at little cost because the information needed is already being collected as part of standard evaluations."
Source: Eurekalert
Quiz on Depression
The World Health Organization reports that depression is one of the main causes of disability affecting about 121 million people worldwide. More tragically, it claims around 850,000 lives every year. Hence, it is important that we understand this affliction to help ourselves or our loved ones to cope and, hopefully, resolve it. How well do you know the facts about depression? Take this quiz and f
Advertisement
After analyzing data for all these symptoms, the researchers found that having severe depressive symptoms and a high variability of those symptoms over time was the most accurate predictor of suicidal behavior. The severity and variability in impulsivity and aggression over time did not add to the prediction model.
Combining this measure of variability in depressive symptoms along with other relevant factors such as younger age, mood disorders, childhood abuse, and personal and parental history of suicide attempts, Melhem and her team developed a Prediction Risk Score. They concluded that a score of 3 or more of these risk factors indicated a higher risk for suicidal behavior. Using this threshold in the study population, they found the predictive test to be 87 percent sensitive, much better than currently available models.
The model has to be independently tested and replicated in different populations, and future research to include objective biological markers will be needed to make the Prediction Risk Score more accurate, notes Melhem.
"The Prediction Risk Score is a valuable addition to the physician's toolkit to help predict suicide risk in high-risk individuals, and it can be done at little cost because the information needed is already being collected as part of standard evaluations."
Source: Eurekalert
Youth Suicide Rates May Up as Intentional Self-Poisoning Rates Double
Self-poisoning is the most common method of self-harm among children and teenagers. A new study finds that the number of self-poisoning cases in young people has alarmingly doubled in the last decade.
Advertisement
Suicide Deaths Have Risen Globally to Over 800,000 in 2016Men had higher mortality rates from suicide than women, and that higher rates tended to be linked to higher levels of social and economic deprivation. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Readings
Latest Research News
Researchers are working on new strategies and solutions for sleep apnea to ward off a range of health risks including cognitive decline.
The scientists discovered that when the stem cells in the hair follicle are made softer, they have a higher chance of growing hair.
A combinatorial therapy provided promising beneficial results among people with ischemic stroke.
In Parkinson's disease patients voice disorders are quite common. A new combination therapy had greater effects on the voice.
New study findings delineate how aging affects the immune response following Spinal cord injury (SCI) and highlight the participation of the spinal cord meninges in repair.