Effect of next-step antidepressant treatment on suicidal ideation: findings from the VAST-D trial.

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) contributes to suicide risk. Treating MDD effectively is considered a key suicide prevention intervention. Yet many patients with MDD do not respond to their initial medication and require a 'next-step'. The relationship between next-step treatments and suicidal thoughts and behaviors is uncharted. METHOD: The VA Augmentation and Switching Treatments for Depression trial randomized 1522 participants to one of three next-step treatments: Switching to Bupropion, combining with Bupropion, and augmenting with Aripiprazole. In this secondary analysis, features associated with lifetime suicidal ideation (SI) and attempts (SA) at baseline and current SI during treatment were explored. RESULTS: Compared to those with SI only, those with lifetime SI + SA were more likely to be female, divorced, or separated, unemployed; and to have experienced more childhood adversity. They had a more severe depressive episode and were more likely to respond to 'next-step' treatment. The prevalence of SI decreased from 46.5% (694/1492) at baseline to 21.1% (315/1492) at end-of-treatment. SI during treatment was associated with baseline SI; low positive mental health, more anxiety, greater severity and longer duration of current MDD episode; being male and White; and treatment with S-BUP or C-BUP as compared to A-ARI. CONCLUSION: SI declines for most patients during next-step medication treatments. But about 1 in 5 experienced emergent or worsening SI during treatment, so vigilance for suicide risk through the entire 12-week acute treatment period is necessary. Treatment selection may affect the risk of SI.

Implementing Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Strategies for Greatest Impact.

Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States and globally. In this review, epidemiological trends in mortality and suicide risk are presented, with consideration given to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A public health model of suicide prevention with a community and clinical framework, along with advances in scientific discovery, offer new solutions that await widespread implementation. Actionable interventions with evidence for reducing risk for suicidal behavior are presented, including universal and targeted strategies at community, public policy, and clinical levels. Clinical interventions include screening and risk assessment; brief interventions (e.g., safety planning, education, and lethal means counseling) that can be done in primary care, emergency, and behavioral health settings; psychotherapies (cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavior, mentalization therapy); pharmacotherapy; and systemwide procedures for health care organizations (training, policies, workflow, surveillance of suicide indicators, use of health records for screening, care steps). Suicide prevention strategies must be prioritized and implemented at scale for greatest impact.

Gone Too Soon: priorities for action to prevent premature mortality associated with mental illness and mental distress.

Globally, too many people die prematurely from suicide and the physical comorbidities associated with mental illness and mental distress. The purpose of this Review is to mobilise the translation of evidence into prioritised actions that reduce this inequity. The mental health research charity, MQ Mental Health Research, convened an international panel that used roadmapping methods and review evidence to identify key factors, mechanisms, and solutions for premature mortality across the social-ecological system. We identified 12 key overarching risk factors and mechanisms, with more commonalities than differences across the suicide and physical comorbidities domains. We also identified 18 actionable solutions across three organising principles: the integration of mental and physical health care; the prioritisation of prevention while strengthening treatment; and the optimisation of intervention synergies across social-ecological levels and the intervention cycle. These solutions included accessible, integrated high-quality primary care; early life, workplace, and community-based interventions co-designed by the people they should serve; decriminalisation of suicide and restriction of access to lethal means; stigma reduction; reduction of income, gender, and racial inequality; and increased investment. The time to act is now, to rebuild health-care systems, leverage changes in funding landscapes, and address the effects of stigma, discrimination, marginalisation, gender violence, and victimisation.

Relationship between burnout and Major Depressive Disorder in health professionals: A HEAR report.

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a "normal" albeit concerning response to workplace stress, whereas Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious illness associated with impairment and suicide risk. Because of symptomatic overlap between the two conditions and MDD-associated stigma, individuals reporting work-related stress and depression often are "diagnosed" with burnout at the expense of recognizing and treating MDD. Our study aimed to leverage organizational implementation of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention's Interactive Screening Program to elucidate relationships among burnout, depression, and other suicide risk factors. METHODS: 2281 of about 30,000 (~7.6 %) medical trainees, staff, and faculty responded to an anonymous online stress and depression questionnaire. Respondents were grouped into four cohorts: screened positive for burnout alone (n = 439, 19 %), depression alone (n = 268, 12 %), both conditions (n = 759, 33 %), or neither condition (n = 817, 36 %), and compared on multiple measures of distress and other suicide risk factors. RESULTS: Burnout alone and depression alone each predicted greater distress and suicide risk compared with neither condition. Depression was a stronger predictor than burnout and demonstrated a consistent association with other suicide risk factors regardless of whether burnout was present. In contrast, burnout was not consistently associated with other suicide risk factors when depression was present. LIMITATIONS: The sample was limited to one state-supported academic medical center; to individuals who elected to take the online survey; and relied on a single item, non-validated measure of burnout. CONCLUSION: When emotional distress is reported by healthcare workers, attention should not stop at "burnout," as burnout frequently comingles with clinical depression, a serious and treatable mental health condition.

Preventing Clinician Suicide: A Call to Action During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

In this commentary, the authors offer a call to action in the long-standing fight to prevent clinicians from dying by suicide. In April 2020, the nation was shocked by the suicide of New York City emergency physician Dr. Lorna Breen, who died while recovering from COVID-19. She joins an unknown number of clinicians who have taken their lives over the past year. The authors introduce Dr. Breen, a highly talented physician working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine how pervasive distress and suicide are in clinicians. Then, they explain the lived experience movement and highlight how clinicians speaking openly about their mental illness and treatment are making it easier for their colleagues to seek lifesaving help, despite the stigma still surrounding mental illness and treatment in medicine. The authors sort through the science of clinician distress; critique how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the lives of clinicians; and describe existing national initiatives to address clinician stress, burnout, and suicide. Finally, they recommend evidence-based actions to prevent clinician suicide that multiple stakeholder groups can take, including regulatory agencies, licensing boards, and hospital privileging boards; specialty boards, professional associations, and continuing education organizations; medical educators; and individual clinicians. Suicide is a complex but generally preventable cause of death. Those in medicine must forge ahead with collective momentum. Dr. Breen, so many other clinicians, and those they have left behind deserve nothing less.