Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T09:11:30.127Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Can better recognition and treatment of depression reduce suicide rates? A brief review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Z. Rihmer
Z. Rihmer*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry No. XIII, National Institute for Psychiatry and Neurology, Budapest27, Pf. 1. 1281, Hungary
*
*Correspondence and reprints.
Get access

Summary

Depression, the major cause of suicide, is prevalent but an under-detected, underdiagnosed and, under-treated illness and it is particularly true for depressed suicide victims. However, several studies consistently show that successful treatment of depression not only relieves depressive symptoms, but also decreases and makes suicidality vanish. If the rate of treated depressions in the population increases gradually, at a given point it will appear in the decline of the suicide rates. Although absolute evidence is lacking at present, recent reports from some European countries strongly suggest that increasing utilisation of antidepressants is one of the most important contributing factors in the decrease in suicide rates.

Keywords

antidepressantsdepressionsuicidesuicide preventionsuicide rates
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 16 , Issue 7 , November 2001 , pp. 406 - 409
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahrens, BMüller-Oerlinghausen, BSchou, MWolf, TAlda, MGrof, E. et al. Excess cardiovascular and suicide mortality of affective disorders may be reduced by lithium prophylaxis. J Affect Disord 1999; 33: 67–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, UAAndersen, MRosholm, JUGram, LF.Contacts to the health care system prior to suicide: a comprehensive analysis using registers for general and psychiatric hospital admissions, contacts to general practitioners and practising specialists and drug prescriptions. Acta Psychiat Scand 2000; 102: 126–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angst, JSellaro, RAngst, F.Long-term outcome and mortality of treated versus untreated bipolar and depressed patients: A preliminary report. Int J Psychiatr Clin Pract 1998; 2: 115–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baldessarini, RJTondo, LHennen, J.Effects of lithium treatment and its discontinuation on suicidal behaviour in bipolar manic-depressive disorders. J Clin Psychiatry 60(Suppl) 2 1999 77–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Brodersen, ALicht, RWVestergaard, POlesen, AVMortensen, PB.Sixteen-year mortality in patients with affective disorder commenced on lithium. Br J Psychiatry 2000; 176: 429–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, AT.Mental illness and suicide: a case-control study in East-Taiwan. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1900; 52: 594–603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, ATA.Psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors for suicide. Case-control psychological autopsy study. Br J Psychiatry 2000; 177: 160–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coppen, A.Depression as a lethal disease: prevention strategies. J Clin Psychiatry 55(Suppl) 4 1994 37–45.Google ScholarPubMed
Druss, BGHoff, RARosenheck, RA.Underuse of antidepressants in major depression: prevalence and correlates in a national sample of young adults. J Clin Psychiatry 2000; 61: 234–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakko, HRasanen, PTiihonen, J.Secular trends in the rates and seasonality of violent and nonviolent suicide occurrences in Finland during 1980–1995. J Affective Disord 1998; 50: 49–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, ECBarraclough, B.Suicide as an outcome for mental disorders. Br J Psychiatry 1997; 170: 205–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henriksson, MMAro, HMMarttunen, MJHeikkinen, MEIsometsa, ETKuoppasalmi, KI. et al. Mental disorders and comorbidity in suicide. Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150: 935–40.Google ScholarPubMed
Inskip, HMHarris, ECBarraclough, B.Lifetime risk of suicide for affective disorder, alcoholism and schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 1998; 172: 35–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isacsson, GBergman, URich, CL.Epidemiological data suggest antidepressants reduce suicide risk among depressives. J Affective Disord 1996; 41: 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isacsson, GHolmgren, PDruid, HBergman, U.The utilisation of antidepressants – a key issue in the prevention of suicide: an analysis of 5281 suicides in Sweden during the period 1992–1994. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1997; 96: 94–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isacsson, G.Suicide prevention – a medical breakthrough?. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2000; 102: 113–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isometsä, EHenriksson, MMAro, HMHeikkinen, MEKouppasalmi, KILönnqvist, JK.Suicide in major depression. Am J Psychiatry 1994; 151: 530–6.Google ScholarPubMed
Kallner, GLindelius, RPetterson, UStockman, OTham, A.Mortality in 497 patients with affective disorders attending a lithium clinic or after having left it. Pharmacopsychiatry 2000; 33: 8–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kasper, SSchindler, SNeumeister, A.Risk of suicide in depression and its implication for psychopharmacological treatment. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 1996; 11: 71–79.Google ScholarPubMed
Lecrubier, Y.Is depression under-recognised and undertreated?. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 1998; 13 (Suppl) 5: s3–s6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClure, GMG.Changes in suicide in England and Wales, 1960–1997. Br J Psychiatry 2000; 176: 64–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Möller, H-J.Antidepressants – Do they decrease or increase suicidality?. Pharmacopsychiatry 1992; 25: 249–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Müller-Oerlinghause, BBerghöfer, A.Antidepressants and suicidal risk. J Clin Psychiatry 60Suppl 2 1999 94–9.Google Scholar
Pihlgren, H.Depression and suicide on Gotland. An intensive study of all suicides before and after a depression-training programme for general practitioners. J Affective Disord 1995; 35: 147–52.Google Scholar
Pirkis, JBurgess, P.Suicide and recency of health care contacts. A systematic review. Br J Psychiatry 1998; 173: 462–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rich, C.LIsacsson, G.Suicide and antidepressants in South Alabama: evidence for improved treatment of depression. J Affective Disord 1997; 45: 135–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rihmer, ZAppleby, LRihmer, ABelső, N.Decreasing suicide in Hungary. [letter] Br J Psychiatry 2000; 177: 84.Google ScholarPubMed
Rihmer, ZBarsi, JArató, MDemeter, E.Suicide in subtypes of primary major depression. J. Affective Disord 1990; 18: 221–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rihmer, ZRutz, WBarsi, J.Suicide rate, prevalence of diagnosed depression and prevalence of working physicians in Hungary. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1993; 88: 391–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rihmer, ZRutz, WPihlgren, H.Decreasing tendency of seasonality in suicide may indicate lowering rate of depressive suicides in the population. Psychiatry Res 1998; 81: 233–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rihmer, Z.Strategies of suicide prevention: Focus on health care. J Affective Disord 1996; 39: 83–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutz, WWalinder, JEberhard, GHolmberg, GVon Knorring, A.-LWistedt, B. et al. An educational program on depressive disorders for general practitioners on Gotland: background and evaluation. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1989; 79: 19–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sartorius, N.Recent changes in suicide rates in selected Eastern European and other European countries. Int Psychogeriatrics 1995; 7: 301–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szádóczky, EPapp, ZSVitrai, JRihmer, ZFüredi, J.The prevalence of major depressive and bipolar disorders in Hungary. J Affective Disord 1998; 50: 153–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO. The World Health Report. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 1997.Google Scholar
Wittchen, H.-UKnauper, BKessler, R.D.CLifetime risk of depression. Br J Psychiatry 165(Suppl) 26 1994 16–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.