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What are the major risk factors for suicide?
Some major risk factors for suicide are presented in the below table.
- The strongest risk factor for suicide is the presence of a psychiatric disorder, especially a mood disorder (∼50% of all suicides).
- Other risk factors include access to firearms (∼50% of suicides are by use of firearms),
- age in a bimodal fashion (15 to 24 years and 65+), and
- Caucasian and Native American race.
- Men are more likely to complete suicide though women make more attempts.
- Roughly one-quarter of suicide completions are in the context of alcohol intoxication.
- The presence of severe anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, and major psychosocial loss increase the risk for imminent suicide.
- Prior suicide attempt is the best predictor of future suicide attempts.
Risk Factors for Suicide
| Psychiatric illness (major depression [comorbid anxiety raises risk], bipolar disorder, drug dependence, alcoholism, schizophrenia, personality disorders, panic disorder) |
| Neurologic disorders (Huntington’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, TBI) |
| Race (Caucasian and Native American) |
| Marital status (widowed, divorced, or separated; especially divorced men) |
| Living alone |
| Recent personal loss |
| Unemployment |
| Financial/legal difficulties |
| Comorbid medical illness (having chronic illness, pain, or terminal illness) |
| History of suicide attempts or threats |
| Male gender |
| Advancing age |
| Family history of suicide |
| Recent hospital discharge |
| Firearms in the household |
| Hopelessness |
TBI , Traumatic brain injury.
Adapted from Weintraub BR, Brezing C, Lagomasino I, et al. The suicidal patient. In Stern TA, Fava M, Wilens TE, Rosenbaum JF, editors. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. London, Elsevier, p. 590 (Box 53-1), 2016.
Sources
- Chow GV, Czarny MJ, Hughes MT, Carrese JA: CURVES: a mnemonic for determining medical decision-making capacity and providing emergency treatment in the acute setting. Chest 137(2):421-427, 2010.
- Cai X, Robinson J, Muehlschlegel S, et al.: Patient preferences and surrogate decision making in neuroscience intensive care units. Neurocrit Care 23(1):131-141, 2015.
- Appelbaum PS: Special section on APA’s model commitment law: an introduction and key provision of APA’s model law. Hosp Community Psychiatry 36(9):966-968, 1985.
