Suicide rates are higher in later life than in any other age group. The design of effective suicide prevention strategies hinges on the identification of specific, quantifiable risk factors. Methodological challenges include the lack of systematically applied terminology in suicide and risk factor research, the low base rate of suicide, and its complex, multidetermined nature. Although variable...

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether associations between fetal growth and psychiatric and socioeconomic problems are consistent with causal mechanisms. AIMS To estimate the extent to which associations are a result of unmeasured confounding factors using a sibling-comparison approach. METHOD We predicted outcomes from continuously measured birth weight in a Swedish population cohort (n = 3 291...

Suicide is a termite that engulfs close to seven hundred thousand people worldwide each year. Existing work on risk factors predict suicide lacks statistical associations, does not consider most countries, and has wide range of factor domains. The goal this systematic review meta-analysis enhance our current understanding suicidality by identifying are strongly associated with their impact deve...

BACKGROUND Heterogeneity within the diagnostic construct of bipolar disorder is most likely an obstacle to discovering its causes. Phenomena in the bipolar spectrum, including rapid cycling, cyclothymia, and affective instability of borderline personality, may be important markers of etiologic heterogeneity. Rapid switching of mood may be central to these phenomena. METHODS We performed a cas...

CONTEXT Prior observational studies suggest that treatment with lithium may be associated with reduced risk of suicide in bipolar disorder. However, these studies are biased toward patients with the most severe disorders, and the relation to sex and age has seldom been investigated. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether treatment with lithium reduces the risk of suicide in a nationwide study. DE...

BACKGROUND Bipolar disorder (BD) has been reported to be associated with high risk of suicide. We aimed to investigate the frequency and characteristics of suicide in people with BD in a national sample. METHOD Suicide in BD in England from 1996 to 2009 was explored using descriptive statistics on data collected by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Men...

BACKGROUND Bipolar disorder refers to a group of chronic psychiatric disorders of mood and energy levels. While dramatic psychiatric symptoms dominate the acute phase of the diseases, the chronic course is often determined by an increasing burden of co-occurring medical conditions. High rates of diabetes mellitus in patients with bipolar disorder are particularly striking, yet unexplained. Trea...

OBJECTIVE We explored the association between IBS and the development of bipolar disorder, and the risk factors for bipolar disorders in patients with IBS. METHODS We identified patients who were newly diagnosed with IBS between 2000 and 2010 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We also identified a comparison matched cohort without IBS. The occurrence of new-onset bipol...

A universal phenomenon equally ancient as the history of mankind, suicide is defined as the willful and intentional ending of one’s own life. Risk factors for suicidal behav‐ ior are traumatic childhood and adulthood experiences, negative interfamily interac‐ tions, social isolation, decreased social solidarity, financial troubles, losses, despair, impulsivity, and migration. Recognized as a cr...

BACKGROUND Hungary previously had one of the highest suicide rates in the world, but experienced major social and economic changes from 1990 onwards. We aimed to investigate the antecedents of suicide in Hungary. We hypothesised that suicide in Hungary would be associated with both risk factors for suicide as identified in Western studies, and experiences related to social and economic restruct...