Attempts to reduce suicide in a population do not always focus enough on high-risk patients, argues an Essay in PLoS Medicine this week that discusses different interventions for "secondary suicide prevention."
Whilst primary suicide prevention aims to reduce the number of new cases of suicide in the population and tertiary prevention attempts to diminish clusters of suicides in an area ("suicide contagion"), secondary suicide prevention aims to decrease the likelihood of suicide attempts in particularly high risk patients. These include people with psychiatric illnesses, which is associated with 90% of all suicides. Leo Sher of Columbia University and colleagues discuss the growing research field that aims to help prevent suicide in these patients most at risk. Suicide poses a major threat to public health worldwide, accounting for 877,000 deaths worldwide in 2002.
Outlining both the clinical evaluations and biological markers of suicide, the authors argue that physicians need to be taught about the association between mental disorders and suicide and should not hesitate to ask people about their thoughts of suicide, as patients will often talk frankly given the opportunity.
The authors also discuss the latest research on five secondary suicide prevention methods: antidepressants; the combination of therapy and drugs; "follow-up care" to maintain adherence to antidepressants and other therapies; legal restrictions to reduce access to particular means of suicide (such as firearms or pesticides); and responsible reporting of suicide cases in the media.
There are still many gaps in research, say the authors, who argue that more research into new approaches for the prevention and treatment of suicidal behaviour is essential. "Looking to the future, thorough evaluations and appropriate treatments of patients with depressive disorders and other psychiatric illnesses should help to improve the efficacy of secondary prevention of suicide," they conclude.
Note to reporters: The Samaritans, MediaWise, and the US Centers for Disease Control have published guidelines for reporters on the safe media reporting of suicide:
- Samaritans: http://www.samaritans.org/media_centre/media_guidelines.aspx
- MediaWise: http://www.mediawise.org.uk/display_page.php?id=166
- Centers of Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm
In your coverage we encourage you to include the contact details of organizations that offer support to those with suicidal thoughts, such as the Samaritans (http://www.samaritans.org/) or Befrienders Worldwide (which provides a directory of suicide prevention helplines and centers around the world; http://www.befrienders.org/).
Funding: No specific funding was received for this piece.
Competing Interests:The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Ganz D, Braquehais MD, Sher L (2010) Secondary Prevention of Suicide. PLoS Med 7(6): e1000271.doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000271
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000271
PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: www.plos.org/press/plme-07-06-sher.pdf
CONTACT:
Leo Sher
Columbia University Medical Center
Psychiatry
1051 Riverside Drive, Box 42
New York, NY 10032
United States of America
212-543-6240
212-543-6017 (fax)
LS2003@Columbia.edu
Journal
PLoS Medicine