Many people who die by suicide aren’t depressed, new genetic research suggests.
Among friends and family of those who die by suicide, a common feeling is: I didn’t know.
While some people who die by suicide have tried before,about half haven’t shown any clear signs. They haven’t talked about suicidal thoughts, been diagnosed with conditions like depression, or given any previous indication they were at risk.
If you need help, call 988 to reach a free, confidential 24/7 support line for suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
A new genetic study at the University of Utah found that these unexpected suicides aren’t just happening as people aren’t getting mental health care. Their risk factors may be very different.
The research showed that people who die by suicide without prior suicidal thoughts or attempts have fewer psychiatric diagnoses and also fewer genetic risk factors for mental health conditions compared to those who showed warning signs beforehand.
“There are a lot of people at risk of suicide who aren’t depressed,” says Hilary coon, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah and the lead author of the study.“This means we need to think about what puts people at risk in different ways.”
The results, published in JAMA Network Open, change how we understand suicide risk and suggest new ways to save lives.
Previous research showed that people who die by suicide without known suicidal thoughts are less likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis like depression. But it wasn’t clear why. Some thought these people might still be depressed or anxious,but simply hadn’t been diagnosed.
Though, Coon’s team found this wasn’t the case. They discovered that this group has different genetic risk factors then people who had shown suicidal thoughts before. By studying genetic data from over 2,700 people who died by suicide, they found that people without prior suicidal thoughts tend to have fewer genetic risks for conditions like depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, and PTSD.
The genetic data also suggests this group isn’t more likely to have milder issues like feeling down or anxious. This means our current approach to preventing suicide may need to change.
“We’ve thought that we just need to get better at finding people with conditions like depression,” Coon explains. “If people had similar underlying issues, better screening could help.But for those with different risks, more screening might not be effective.”
Coon’s future research will focus on how to find and help these “hidden” at-risk individuals. Previous studies suggest potential links between suicide risk and long-term conditions like chronic pain. Coon is also studying how physical health problems, like inflammation and breathing issues, might play a role, as well as traits that might protect people from suicide.
Coon stresses that individual genetic risk factors have a small impact,and there’s no single gene that causes suicide. Environmental and social factors are also very crucial. Understanding how these factors interact with biology is key to identifying who is at risk.
“We hope our work will help us identify different groups of people at risk and the situations where these risks are important,” Coon says.
“If people have a particular diagnosis that makes them more vulnerable in certain environments, they might not ever say they’re suicidal.we hope our work can reveal traits and situations linked to higher risk so doctors can provide more effective, tailored care.”
Identifying at-risk individuals will help people get the support they need.
If you need help,call 988 to reach a free,confidential 24/7 support line for suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Janssen Research & Growth, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation–National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, and the Clark Tanner Foundation.
Content is solely the duty of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Source: University of Utah
