Risk factors for suicide reattempt: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is one of the main external causes of death worldwide. People who have already attempted suicide are at high risk of new suicidal behavior. However, there is a lack of information on the risk factors that facilitate the appearance of reattempts. The aim of this study was to calculate the risk of suicide reattempt in the presence of suicidal history and psychosocial risk factors and to estimate the effect of each individual risk factor. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the PRISMA-2020 guidelines. Studies on suicide reattempt that measured risk factors were searched from inception to 2022. The risk factors studied were those directly related to suicide history: history of suicide prior to the index attempt, and those that mediate the transition from suicidal ideation to attempt (alcohol or drug misuse, impulsivity, trauma, and non-suicidal self-injury). RESULTS: The initial search resulted in 11 905 articles. Of these, 34 articles were selected for this meta-analysis, jointly presenting 52 different effect sizes. The pooled effect size across the risk factors was significant (OR 2.16). Reattempt risk may be increased in presence of any of the following risk factors: previous history, active suicidal ideation, trauma, alcohol misuse, and drug misuse. However, impulsivity, and non-suicidal self-injury did not show a significant effect on reattempt. CONCLUSION: Most of the risk factors traditionally associated with suicide are also relevant when talking about suicide reattempts. Knowing the traits that define reattempters can help develop better preventive and intervention plans.

Psychiatric profiles in suicidal attempters: Relationships with suicide behaviour features.

BACKGROUND: Suicide constitutes a major health concern worldwide, being a significant contributor of death, globally. The diagnosis of a mental disorder has been extensively linked to the varying forms of suicidal ideation and behaviour. The aim of our study was to identify the varying diagnostic profiles in a sample of suicide attempters. METHODS: A sample of 683 adults (71.3% females, 40.10±15.74 years) admitted at a hospital emergency department due to a suicide attempt was recruited. Latent class analysis was used to identify diagnostic profiles and logistic regression to study the relationship between comorbidity profile membership and sociodemographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: Two comorbidity profiles were identified (Class I: low comorbidity class, 71.3% of attempters; Class II: high comorbidity class, 28.7% of attempters). Class I members were featured by the diagnosis of depression and general anxiety disorder, and low comorbidity; by contrast, the high comorbidity profile was characterized by a higher probability of presenting two or more coexisting psychiatric disorders. Class II included more females, younger, with more depressive symptoms and with higher impulsivity levels. Moreover, Class II members showed more severe suicidal ideation, higher number of suicide behaviours and a greater number of previous suicide attempts (p<.01, for all the outcomes), compared to Class I members. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric profiles may be considered for treatment provision and personalized psychiatric treatment in suicidal attempters as well as tackle suicide risk.

Identifying risk factors for predominant negative symptoms from early stages in schizophrenia: A longitudinal and sex-specific study in first-episode schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: People with schizophrenia and predominant negative symptoms (PNS) present a different clinical and functional profile from those without such symptomatology. Few studies have examined the risk factors and the incidence of PNS in first-episode schizophrenia patients (FES) and differentiating by sex. This study aims to assess prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics related to PNS from early stages and to study if there are sex-specific features in terms of developing PNS. METHODS: In a sample of 121 FES patients derived from a multicentre and naturalistic study, those who developed PNS at 12-months were identified. Environmental, clinical, functional, and cognitive ratings were examined longitudinally. Binary logistic regressions were applied to detect baseline risk factors for developing PNS at one-year follow-up. RESULTS: In the present FES cohort, 24.8% of the patients (n=30) developed PNS (20% of the women, 27.6% of the men). Compared to non-PNS (75.2%, n=91), at baseline, PNS group had more negative (t=-6.347; p<0.001) and depressive symptoms (t=-5.026; p<0.001), poorer premorbid adjustment (t=-2.791; p=0.006) and functional outcome (t=-2.649; p<0.001), more amotivation (t=-7.333; p<0.001), more expressivity alterations (t=-4.417; p<0.001), worse cognitive reserve (t=2.581; p<0.011), a lower estimated intelligent quotient (t=2.417; p=0.017), worse verbal memory (t=2.608; p=0.011), and worse fluency (t=2.614; p=0.010). Regressions showed that the premorbid adjustment was the main predictor of PNS in females (p=0.007; Exp(B)=1.106) while in males were a worse verbal memory performance (p=0.031; Exp(B)=0.989) and more alterations in the motivation domain (p=0.001; Exp(B)=1.607). CONCLUSIONS: A different baseline clinical profile and notable risk factors differences in the development of PNS between males and females were found. Results suggest that sex may be an important confounder in studies comparing schizophrenia patients with predominant and non-predominant negative symptomatology.

The Suicide Prevention and Intervention Study (SURVIVE): Study protocol for a multisite cohort study with nested randomized-controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: Suicide is one of the leading causes of avoidable death. Gathering national data on suicidal behaviour incidence is crucial to develop evidence-based public policies. The study has two primary objectives: (1) to determine the incidence of suicide attempts in Spain and related risk factors, and (2) to analyze the efficacy of secondary prevention programmes to prevent suicide re-attempting in comparison to treatment as usual (TAU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multisite, coordinated, cohort study with three nested randomized controlled trials. A cohort of 2000 individuals (age >=12) with suicidal behaviour will be recruited at ten sites distributed across Spain. Assessments will be conducted within 10 days of the suicide attempt (V0-baseline visit) and after 12 months (V4-last visit) and will include clinician reported and participant reported outcomes (PROs). Between V0 and V4, PROs will be collected remotely every three months (V1, V2 and V3). Optatively, cohort participants will participate in three nested randomized-controlled-trials (RCTs) evaluating different secondary prevention interventions: Participants aged 18 years and older will be randomly allocated to: Telephone-based Management+TAU vs. TAU or iFightDepression-Survive+TAU vs. TAU. Participants aged between 12 and 18 years will be allocated to a specific intervention for youths: Self Awareness of Mental Health+TAU vs. TAU. RESULTS: This study will provide interesting data to estimate suicide attempt incidence in Spain. and will provide evidence on three. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence on three potentially efficacious interventions for individuals at high risk of suicide will be obtained, and this could improve the treatment given to these individuals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04343703.

Clinical predictors and psychosocial risk factors of suicide attempt severity.

BACKGROUND: Suicide attempts are an important predictor of completed suicide and may differ in terms of severity of medical consequences or medical lethality. There is little evidence on serious suicide attempt (SSA) and very few studies have compared SSA with non-SSA. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this multisite, coordinated, cohort study was to analyze the role of clinical variables and the sociodemographic and psychological risk factors of SSA. METHOD: In this multisite, coordinated, cohort study, 684 participants (222 for the mild suicide attempt group, 371 for the moderate suicide attempt group and 91 for the SSA group) were included in the study. Ordinal regression models were performed to analyze the predictor variables of SSA. RESULTS: Early physical abuse (OR=1.231) and impulsivity (OR=1.036) were predictors of SSA, while depressive symptoms were associated with a lower risk of SSA. CONCLUSION: Environmental and psychological factors as physical abuse and impulsivity are related with severe suicide severity. These findings will help to develop strategies to prevent suicide and may be considered for the treatment and management of suicide.

Can lithium salts prevent depressive episodes in the real world?

To critically examine the effectiveness of lithium in preventing depressive symptoms (mixed and depressive episodes) in real life settings, taking into account adherence to drug treatment and its implications for the clinical costs of the disease. Overall, 72 patients with bipolar disorder initially treated with lithium carbonate were included and followed-up for 10 years. Patients were assessed every 8 weeks for morbidity and alcohol/drug consumption. Patients with good adherence to lithium had fewer episodes with depressive features than poor adherers (B = 2.405, p = 0.046) and also fewer manic and hypomanic episodes (B = 2.572; p < 0.001), after controlling for confounders. Time to relapse into a depressive or mixed episode and into a manic or hypomanic episode was shorter in patients with poor adherence. The costs of the 1.95 ±â€¯2.38 (mean ±â€¯standard deviation) admissions of adherent patients through the 10 years of follow-up were €10,349, while the costs of the 6.25 ±â€¯4.92 admissions of non-adherent patients were €44,547. In clinical practice settings, long-term lithium salts seem to have a preventive effect on depressive symptoms.

Psychoeducational preventive treatment for women at risk of postpartum depression: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial, PROGEA.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression is a disease with a prevalence of 20% that has deleterious consequences not only for the mother but also for the baby and can cause delays in physical, social and cognitive development. In this context, the European Union Committee on Public Health has declared it essential that preventative measures are taken by centres providing care for women with a multidisciplinary approach. PROGEA is a multicentre, single-blind randomized, 3-year, longitudinal clinical trial aiming to evaluate the efficacy of a psychoeducational programme in preventing postpartum depression in at-risk women, based on a range of clinical variables, and explore prognostic factors. This paper describes the methods and rationale behind the study. METHODS: We will study women receiving treatment as usual plus a psychoeducation cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention and a control group receiving only treatment as usual. The sample will be recruited from an incidental sampling of pregnant women in two health regions. We will recruit 600 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who consent to take part in the study. Almost half of the women, about 280, would be expected to have some risk factors for postpartum depression. All those found to have risk factors will be evaluated, and we estimate that a quarter will be classified as at-risk of developing postpartum depression as measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. This subset will be randomly allocated to receive treatment as usual with or without the CBT intervention. Six sessions of CBT (1 individual and 5 group) will be offered by a psychologist. DISCUSSION: Findings from this study will be used to design a definitive study that will examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the CBT-based intervention in improving the mood of women in the postpartum period. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02323152 ; Date: December 2014.

Una reflexión sobre el síndrome de asperger y la comorbilidad con los trastornos psicóticos / Reflections on asperger syndrome and comorbidity with psychotic disorders

Unas reflexiones sobre la comorbilidad del síndrome de Asperger (SA) y la esquizofrenia (E) pueden ser muy interesantes para los psiquiatras que atienden a pacientes adultos. Hay poca consciencia del síndrome de Asperger como entidad diagnóstica en la práctica clínica para adultos porque es una enfermedad que comienza en la juventud. Cuando está presente el SA, a menudo persiste durante años sin diagnosticar. Los pacientes toman contacto con los servicios psiquiátricos porque presentan diversos síntomas psicopatológicos y son caracterizados como personas “raras” con un comportamiento bizarro, además de presentar otros síntomas. Describimos brevemente un caso ilustrativo. Se explican las circunstancias en las que deben centrarse los clínicos para distinguir entre estos dos diagnósticos y mejorar la fiabilidad diagnóstica y las posibilidades de diagnosticarlo correctamente (AU)

A reflection on Asperger syndrome (AS) and schizophrenia (S) comorbidity could be of great interest to psychiatrists for adult patients. There is little awareness of Asperger syndrome in adult clinical practice due to the early age of onset of the disease. When AS is present, it often persists for many years without being diagnosed. Patients come into contact with psychiatric services because they present a variety of psychopathological symptoms, and they are described as being odd, with bizarre behavior in addition to the rest of the symptomatology. We briefly report a case to illustrate this point. The circumstances on which clinicians should focus in order to distinguish between the two diagnoses and improve diagnostic reliability and the possibility of correct diagnosis are explained (AU)

Reflections on Asperger syndrome and comorbidity with psychotic disorders.

A reflection on Asperger syndrome (AS) and schizophrenia (S) comorbidity could be of great interest to psychiatrists for adult patients. There is little awareness of Asperger syndrome in adult clinical practice due to the early age of onset of the disease. When AS is present, it often persists for many years without being diagnosed. Patients come into contact with psychiatric services because they present a variety of psychopathological symptoms, and they are described as being odd, with bizarre behavior in addition to the rest of the symptomatology. We briefly report a case to illustrate this point. The circumstances on which clinicians should focus in order to distinguish between the two diagnoses and improve diagnostic reliability and the possibility of correct diagnosis are explained.