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Background: The lifetime prevalence of suicide is around 5% in patients with schizophrenia. Non-adherence to antipsychotic medication is an important risk factor, but prospective studies investigating joint effects of antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines on suicidality are scarce. We aimed to investigate how use and non-use of psychotropic medications are associated with suicidality in schizophrenia. Methods: An open cohort study followed all patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric acute unit during a 10-year period with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 696). Cox multiple regression analyses were conducted with use of antipsychotics, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines as time-dependent variables. Adjustments were made for age, gender, depressive mood, agitated behavior, and use of alcohol and illicit substances. Results: A total of 32 (4.6%) suicide events were registered during follow-up. Of these, 9 (28%) were completed suicides and 23 (72%) were attempted suicides. A total of 59 (8.5%) patients were readmitted with suicidal plans during the follow-up. Compared to non-use, use of antipsychotics was associated with 70% lower risk of attempted or completed suicide (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] = 0.30, p < 0.01, CI 0.14–0.65) and 69% reduced risk of readmission with suicidal plans (AHR = 0.31, p < 0.01, CI 0.18–0.55). Use of prescribed benzodiazepines was associated with 126% increased risk of readmission with suicidal plans (AHR = 2.26, p = 0.01, CI 1.24–4.13). Conclusions: Adherence to antipsychotic medication is strongly associated with reduced suicidal risk in schizophrenia. The use of prescribed benzodiazepines was identified as a significant risk factor for being readmitted with suicidal plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) and emotion dysregulation (ED) peaks in adolescence, and is associated with an increased risk of psychopathology, suicide and lower functioning in adulthood. DBT-A has been established as an effective treatment for reducing DSH, however less is known about changes in emotion dysregulation. This study aimed to identify baseline predictors of treatment response in outcome trajectories of DSH and emotion dysregulation. Methods: Response trajectories of DSH and ED were investigated using Latent Class Analysis on RCT data comparing DBT-A and EUC for 77 adolescents treated for deliberate self-harm and borderline traits. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine baseline predictors. Results: Two-class solutions were selected for both indicators, distinguishing between early and late responders in DSH, and responders and non-responders in ED. Higher levels of depression, shorter DSH histories and not receiving DBT-A predicted less favourable response in DSH, while DBT-A was the only predictor of treatment response in ED. Conclusions: DBT-A was associated with a significantly faster reduction of deliberate self-harm in the short-term and improved emotion regulation in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-suicidal self-injury disorder (NSSID) is a new diagnosis proposed in DSM-5 with a need of further study, especially in adolescent clinical populations where non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is particularly prevalent. We aimed to study characteristics of NSSID and estimate an optimal cutoff frequency level of NSSI behavior. Data were collected from 103 outpatient adolescents (ages 12–18) with recurrent self-harm behavior. Adolescents with NSSID reported significantly more frequent NSSI behavior and suicide attempts than adolescents without NSSID. Frequency of NSSI, global functioning, depressive symptoms, number of self-harm methods and anxiety symptoms best discriminated between adolescents with and without NSSID. An optimal cutoff level for a diagnosis of NSSID was found to be ≥15 days with NSSI during the last year, which led to a reduction in the rate of adolescents diagnosed with NSSID from 54% to 46%. This study shows that NSSID is a highly impairing disorder characterized by high risk of multiple NSSI and suicide attempts, decreased functioning and other associated psychiatric disorders. Clinical awareness of these risks are important to ensure early detection and treatment. Future prospective longitudinal studies are needed to further validate the characteristics of the NSSID diagnosis and its clinical utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-harm presents a significant public health challenge. Emergency departments (EDs) are crucial healthcare settings in managing self-harm, but clinician uncertainty in risk assessment may contribute to ineffective care. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) show promise in enhancing care processes, but their effective implementation in self-harm management remains unexplored. Methods: PERMANENS comprises a combination of methodologies and study designs aimed at developing a CDSS prototype that assists clinicians in the personalized assessment and management of ED patients presenting with self-harm. Ensemble prediction models will be constructed by applying machine learning techniques on electronic registry data from four sites, i.e., Catalonia (Spain), Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. These models will predict key adverse outcomes including self-harm repetition, suicide, premature death, and lack of post-discharge care. Available registry data include routinely collected electronic health record data, mortality data, and administrative data, and will be harmonized using the OMOP Common Data Model, ensuring consistency in terminologies, vocabularies and coding schemes. A clinical knowledge base of effective suicide prevention interventions will be developed rooted in a systematic review of clinical practice guidelines, including quality assessment of guidelines using the AGREE II tool. The CDSS software prototype will include a backend that integrates the prediction models and the clinical knowledge base to enable accurate patient risk stratification and subsequent intervention allocation. The CDSS frontend will enable personalized risk assessment and will provide tailored treatment plans, following a tiered evidence-based approach. Implementation research will ensure the CDSS' practical functionality and feasibility, and will include periodic meetings with user-advisory groups, mixed-methods research to identify currently unmet needs in self-harm risk assessment, and small-scale usability testing of the CDSS prototype software. Discussion: Through the development of the proposed CDSS software prototype, PERMANENS aims to standardize care, enhance clinician confidence, improve patient satisfaction, and increase treatment compliance. The routine integration of CDSS for self-harm risk assessment within healthcare systems holds significant potential in effectively reducing suicide mortality rates by facilitating personalized and timely delivery of effective interventions on a large scale for individuals at risk of suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Associations between psychiatric disorders and mortality have been extensively studied, but limited evidence exists regarding influence of clinical characteristics on mortality risk, at the time of acute psychiatric hospitalization. Methods: A prospective total‐cohort study included all patients consecutively admitted to Haukeland University Hospital's psychiatric acute ward in Bergen, Norway between 2005 and 2014 (n = 6125). Clinical interviews were conducted at the first admission within the study period, and patients were subsequently followed for up to 15 years in the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Competing risks regression models were used to investigate associations between clinical characteristics at first admission and the risk of natural and unnatural death during follow‐up. Results: The mean age at first admission and at time of death was 42.5 and 62.8 years, respectively, and the proportion of women in the sample was 47.2%. A total of 1381 deaths were registered during follow‐up, of which 65.5% had natural, 30.4% unnatural, and 4.1% unknown causes. Higher age, male sex, unemployment, cognitive deficits, and physical illness were associated with increased risk of natural death. Male sex, having no partner, physical illness, suicide attempts, and excessive use of alcohol and illicit substances were associated with increased risk of unnatural death. Conclusion: Psychiatric symptoms, except suicide attempts, were unrelated to increased mortality risk. In the endeavor to reduce the increased mortality risk in people with mental disorders, focus should be on addressing modifiable risk factors linked to physical health and excessive use of alcohol and illicit substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify trajectories of service use during the last year before suicide death and the characteristics associated with the trajectories in patients with substance use disorders. This study used a national registry data linkage, which included all patients with substance use disorders who died by suicide in Norway between 2010 and 2018. In- and outpatient contacts with mental health or substance use services during the last year before suicide death was analyzed by week using Sequence State Analysis and cluster analysis to identify trajectories. Logistic regression was used to measure the association between the characteristics and the trajectories. We identified four trajectories of service contact. A brief contact trajectory (n = 366) with a low proportion of weeks in contact (M weeks = 8.3), associated with less psychosis or bipolar disorder (aOR = 0.13 (0.08–0.22)) and higher age. A regular contact trajectory (n = 160), with a higher proportion of contact (M weeks = 47.9), associated with psychosis or bipolar disorder (aOR = 3.66 (2.10–6.47)) and depressive or anxiety disorder (aOR = 3.11 (1.93–5.13)). An intermittent contact trajectory (n = 195) with most contacts with outpatient substance use disorder services (M weeks = 9.7). A continuous contact trajectory (n = 109) with a high proportion of inpatient contact (M weeks = 44.5), strongly associated with psychosis or bipolar disorder (aOR = 6.08 (3.26–11.80)). Longitudinal descriptions of service use reveal different trajectories that are important to consider when developing policies or interventions to reduce the risk of suicide death in patients with substance use disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The time after contact with specialized health services for mental health and substance use is associated with an increased risk of suicide, where temporal aspects of suicide and comorbid mental disorders in patients with substance use disorders could be associated. This study aimed to examine the temporal association between time from last treatment contact to suicide and comorbid mental disorders in patients with substance use disorders. Methods: This study is a historical prospective case series using nationwide registry data. It included 946 individuals registered the year before suicide with a substance use disorder (F10-F19) in Norway's specialized health services for treating substance use and mental health disorders between 2010 and 2020. The outcome was the number of weeks from the last contact with services to suicide. The exposure was comorbid mental disorders divided into 'no comorbid mental disorder'; 'psychosis or bipolar disorders' (F20−F31), 'depressive or anxiety disorders' (F32−F49); and 'personality disorders' (F60-F69). Covariates included gender, age, last diagnosed substance use disorder, registered deliberate self-harm last year, and the number of in- and outpatient contacts the previous year. Results: The number of weeks from last service contact to suicide differed (p = < 0.001) between patients with no comorbid mental disorders (Median = 7; IQR 2–23), psychosis or bipolar disorders (Median = 2; IQR = 1–7), depressive or anxiety disorders (Median = 3; IQR = 1–11) and personality disorders (Median = 1; IQR = 1–5.5). Significantly decreased adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) were found for psychosis or bipolar disorders [aIRR = 0.67 (95% CI 0.53–0.85)] and personality disorders [aIRR = 0.56 (0.42–0.77)] compared to no comorbid mental disorder when adjusted for individual characteristics and service contact. For depressive and anxiety disorders compared to no comorbid mental disorder, the association was significant when adjusted for individual characteristics [aIRR = 0.55 (0.46–0.66)]. Conclusions: While patients with substance use disorders generally died by suicide a short time after contact with services, patients with comorbid mental disorders died an even shorter time after such contact and significantly shorter than patients without such comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overall, suicide rates in the Nordic region, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, have declined in the past 40 years. The aim of this study was to determine trends in suicide mortality from 2000 to 2018. Data were obtained from official suicide statistics for men and women, 15 years and older. Gender and age groups in four calendar periods were analyzed using Joinpoint Estimated Regression Coefficient. The crude regional suicide rate was 17.1, 2000–2004, decreased to 14.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015–2018. Age-standardized rates are 13.6–11.3. The crude rate decreased by 19.5% (16.3% age-standardized), 19.3% for males and 20.5% for females. The largest decrease was found in Finland (34.9%), the smallest in Norway (1.4%). In males, the exception was an increased suicide rate among all Icelandic except 15–24-year olds, and in 45–64 year-old Norwegians. Among females, an increase was seen among 15–24-year olds in all countries except Iceland, in all age groups in Norway, and in 25–44-year olds in Sweden. In males, a decline of the suicide rated lower than 10% was noted in 25–44 olds in Norway and in 15–64 year-olds in Sweden. A robust decrease was observed in the overall regional suicide rate in recent years. Exceptions are rising rates in Icelandic males, in Norwegian females, and the youngest female groups in all except Iceland. The small decline among middle-aged males in Norway and Sweden is of concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to determine differences between adolescents with non-suicidal self-harm with and without a history of suicide attempt (SA). Sixty-eight adolescents with a mean age of 15.6 years (SD = 1.5) attending child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics for repeated self-harm in Oslo, Norway, were included. A battery of instruments was used to assess sociodemographic information and psychopathology such as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnoses, emotional and behavioral problems, borderline symptoms, depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and history of SA. Twenty-six participants (38.2%) reported a lifetime history of SA. Compared to the participants without a history of SA, those with an SA history had used a higher number of methods of self-harm and methods with higher lethality and had higher degrees of emotional and behavioral problems. They also scored higher in depressive symptoms, borderline pathology, emotional dysregulation, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. History of SA was independently associated with perceived moderate to high risk of death on the most severe episode of self-harm (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 15.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.96–129.66), a longer duration (months) since self-harm debut (aOR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01–1.13), and suicidal ideation severity (aOR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01–1.11). Parental report of behavioral problems associated with SA suggested a strong association with externalizing problems. A combination of having a high level of psychopathology, externalizing problems, an extended history of self-harm behavior and use of more lethal self-harm methods seems to entail a significantly increased risk for making SAs among adolescents with non-suicidal self-harm. Non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) with suicide attempt may be distinctive from NSSH without suicide attempt. Adolescents with NSSH with suicide attempt had relatively greater psychopathology. Protracted/lethal self-harm methods and externalizing problems indicate comorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze the effectiveness of family therapy compared to other active treatments for adolescents with depressive disorders or suicidal ideation. Method: We conducted a systematic search of The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL and Web of Science and performed two meta-analyses of outcomes for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Results: We screened 5,940 records and identified 10 randomized controlled studies of family therapy for depressive disorder or suicidal ideation in adolescents with an active treatment comparison group. Nine studies reported outcome measures of depressive symptoms and four reported outcome measures of suicidal ideation. The meta-analysis showed no significant difference between family therapy and active comparison treatments for end-of-treatment levels of depression. For suicidal ideation our meta-analysis showed a significant effect in favour of family therapy over comparison treatments for suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Based on the current body of research, we found that family therapy is not superior to other psychotherapies in the treatment of depressive disorder. However, family therapy leads to significantly improved outcomes for suicidal ideation, compared to other psychotherapies. The evidence for the treatment of depression is of low quality needs more research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Psychiatric disorders are strongly associated with hospital treated deliberate self‐harm (DSH). However, the effect of specific disorders on risk for DSH repetition in sex‐age‐subgroups is understudied. The present study aims to assess the influence of various specific psychiatric disorders on risk for subsequent DSH repetition by way of time to recurrent event analysis on a national cohort of DSH patients. Material and Methods: Individuals aged 18 and older presenting to somatic hospital for DSH during the period 2008–2018 was identified through national registers. A parametric shared frailty survival analysis was used to investigate the impact of various psychiatric disorders on risk of DSH repetition. Results: The cohort consisted of 39,508 individuals of which 8634 (21.8%) presented with 24,028 repeated episodes of hospital treated DSH. Borderline personality disorder increased the risk of DSH repetition in females (adjusted HR 1.49, CI 1.41–1.57), while alcohol use disorder (HR 1.12, CI 1.04–1.19) and substance use disorders (adjusted HR 1.22, CI 1.14–1.32) increased the risk of repetition in males. The strongest impact of psychiatric disorder on risk of repetition was found among the elderly. Previous history of DSH was associated with the highest increased risk of repetition. Conclusion: Prior history of DSH was strongly associated with DSH repetition, but the influence of psychiatric disorder varied significantly by specific diagnoses and by sex and age of the patients. Efforts to prevent DSH repetition should be age and gender specific and designed to meet the needs of people with different specific psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Of Review: Individuals with personality disorders are frequently seen in mental health settings. Their symptoms typically reflect a high level of suffering and burden of disease, with potentially harmful societal consequences, including costs related to absenteeism at work, high use of health services, ineffective or harmful parenting, substance use, suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior, and aggressiveness with legal consequences. Psychotherapy is currently the first-line treatment for patients with personality disorders, but the study of psychotherapy in the domain of personality disorders faces specific challenges.Recent Findings: Challenges include knowing what works for whom, identifying which putative mechanisms of change explain therapeutic effects, and including the social interaction context of patients with a personality disorder. By following a dimensional approach, psychotherapy research on personality disorders may serve as a model for the development and study of innovative psychotherapeutic interventions. We recommend developing the following: (a) an evidence base to make treatment decisions based on individual features; (b) a data-driven approach to predictors, moderators, and mechanisms of change in psychotherapy; (c) methods for studying the interaction between social context and psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Psychiatric care following somatic treatment for deliberate self-harm (DSH) is pivotal in patients' lives both in the short and long term, but evidence to guide such care is limited.Objective: To examine follow-up psychiatric care for patients treated for DSH (ie, intentional self-injury or self-poisoning, irrespective of motivation) at hospital emergency departments and to assess the association of psychiatric referral and treatment attendance with risk of subsequent mortality in these patients.Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective data from several Norwegian registries were interlinked to follow up a national cohort of all patients with hospital-treated DSH for up to 11 years from 2008 through 2018. Data were analyzed from March to October 2021.Exposures: Socioeconomic characteristics, psychiatric history, and clinical features of DSH.Main Outcomes and Measures: Referral to psychiatric services, attendance in psychiatric treatment, and prospective mortality were the 3-stage outcomes during follow-up. Logistic regression with odds ratios and cause-specific survival analysis with hazard ratios were used to examine associations between exposures and outcomes.Results: The study identified 43 153 patients (24 286 [56.3%] female; median [IQR] age at index DSH, 39.0 [23.0-56.0] years) involving 69 569 DSH episodes. Of these patients, 6762 (15.7%) were referred to psychiatric services after somatic treatment for DSH, and 22 008 patients (51.0%) attended psychiatric treatment within 3 months of discharge following somatic treatment for DSH. Prior psychiatric history and psychiatric disorders comorbid with DSH were associated with both referral to and attendance in psychiatric care. During follow-up, 7041 patients died by suicide (n = 911) or other causes (n = 6130). While suicide risk was associated with male sex, age 35 to 64 years, and particularly prior and coexisting psychopathologies, other-cause mortality was associated with age 65 years and older and socioeconomic disadvantage. Patients with psychiatric referrals generally had an increased risk of suicide, but the risk was particularly high among patients who received a referral but did not subsequently attend psychiatric treatment (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.07; 95% CI, 2.28-4.12). The observed association was more pronounced during the first years of follow-up and in patients aged 10 to 34 years or 35 to 64 years and those with a clear intent of self-harm.Conclusions and Relevance: This national cohort study found an association between psychiatric care attendance following treatment for DSH and prospective mortality, highlighting the importance of patient engagement in psychiatric treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have reported increased risks of psychiatric disorders in offspring who have lost a parent, but knowledge is lacking on the risks of several specific disorders and comorbidity. The present study investigated the influence of parental death by external causes during childhood and adolescence on risk of a range of psychiatric disorders and comorbidity. Method: The study cohort comprised 655,477 individuals born 1970‐2012 with a link to both parents. Data on deceased parent's cause and date of death between 1970 and 2012 and offspring's psychiatric disorders between 2008 and 2012 were retrieved from four longitudinal Norwegian registers. Data were analyzed with Cox regression. Results: Compared to nonexposed offspring, offspring exposed to parental death by external causes had a significantly increased risk of depressive disorders, reactions to stress, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, developmental disorders, childhood behavioral and emotional disorders, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and psychiatric comorbidity, but not eating disorders. These increased risks were especially evident following parental suicide and accidental falls and poisoning. No differences were evident depending on gender of the deceased or age at bereavement, and generally no significant interactions with gender of the bereaved offspring were evident. Conclusions: The improved insight into several different psychiatric disorders and psychiatric comorbidity should guide postvention measures aimed at children and adolescents at greatest risk of future sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-harm in adolescents is an increasing public health concern and an important risk factor for suicide. We aimed to examine how age of self-harm onset in adolescents was associated with frequency of subsequent suicidal and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSI) episodes, and how age of onset and duration of self-harm may influence the frequency of self-harm. Methods: Data from 103 adolescents with recurrent self-harm recruited from child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics were collected through clinical interviews and self-reports, and analysed with negative binomial and hurdle models. Results: A lower age of self-harm onset and a longer duration of self-harm were both significantly associated with increased frequency of subsequent episodes of NSSI and risk of a first suicide attempt. There was an increase in repeated suicide attempts when the age of onset of self-harm decreased and the duration increased, and dramatically more for long duration of NSSI before first suicide attempt. Conclusion: Initiating self-harm behaviour at the youngest age had the highest risk of increased frequency of NSSI and suicide attempts. Longer duration of self-harm behaviour increased this risk. This underlines the importance of early identification of self-harm behaviour in adolescents, and the use of effective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often struggle with chronic suicidal thoughts and behaviors and have frequent acute psychiatric admissions. Prevention of serial admissions and disruptions in long-term treatment strategies is needed. This study explored predictors of how frequently and how quickly patients diagnosed with BPD are readmitted after an index psychiatric admission. The authors identified self-harming behavior as a predictor of readmission frequency, whereas depression and hallucinations and delusions predicted time elapsed between the index admission and the first readmission. The authors recommend that predictors of readmissions should be carefully monitored and treated following index admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare suicide rates of people in prison and the general population in the Nordic countries. Data on deaths by suicide and person-years for people in prison and the general population were obtained for the Nordic countries during 2000–2016. Age-standardized rate ratios were calculated. The suicide rate in the Nordic countries overall was 110.1 (95% CI = 98.1, 122.2) per 100,000 person-years for people in prison. A significant decline was noted for the suicide rate of people in prison between 2000 and 2016 (p < 0.0001). The age-standardized mortality ratio was 7.4 (95% CI = 5.9–8.2) for males and 17.8 (95% CI = 7.3–33.2) for females in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway. Despite a decreasing trend over time, excess suicide mortality was noted for people in prison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To identify key information regarding potential treatment differences in refugees and the host population, we aimed to investigate patterns (trajectories) of antidepressant use during 3 years before and after a suicide attempt in refugees, compared with Swedish-born. Association of the identified trajectory groups with individual characteristics were also investigated. Methods: All 20–64-years-old refugees and Swedish-born individuals having specialised healthcare for suicide attempt during 2009–2015 (n = 62,442, 5.6% refugees) were followed 3 years before and after the index attempt. Trajectories of annual defined daily doses (DDDs) of antidepressants were analysed using group-based trajectory models. Associations between the identified trajectory groups and different covariates were estimated by chi2-tests and multinomial logistic regression. Results: Among the four identified trajectory groups, antidepressant use was constantly low (≤15 DDDs) for 64.9% of refugees. A 'low increasing' group comprised 5.9% of refugees (60–260 annual DDDs before and 510–685 DDDs after index attempt). Two other trajectory groups had constant use at medium (110–190 DDDs) and high (630–765 DDDs) levels (22.5 and 6.6% of refugees, respectively). Method of suicide attempt and any use of psychotropic drugs during the year before index attempt discriminated between refugees' trajectory groups. The patterns and composition of the trajectory groups and their association, discriminated with different covariates, were fairly similar among refugees and Swedish-born, with the exception of previous hypnotic and sedative drug use being more important in refugees. Conclusions: Despite previous reports on refugees being undertreated regarding psychiatric healthcare, no major differences in antidepressant treatment between refugees and Swedish-born suicide attempters were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We studied the point prevalence of suicidal and violent ideation, as well as their co‐occurrence and associated characteristics in inpatients with mental health disorders. Methods: Data on suicidal and violent ideation, and sociodemographic and clinical information, were gathered from 1,737 patients when admitted to the acute psychiatric ward. Results: The point prevalence was 51.9% for suicidal ideation and 19.8% for violent ideation. The point prevalence of co‐occurring suicidal and violent ideation was 12.3%, which was significantly greater than expected by chance. Logistic regression analyses indicated that both suicidal and violent ideation were associated with young age and the absence of diagnoses of psychotic disorders; in addition, suicidal ideation was associated with female gender, violent ideation, and diagnoses of mood‐ neurotic and personality disorders, whereas violent ideation was associated with male gender, suicidal ideation, and diagnoses of mood and neurotic disorders. Conclusions: Overall, the findings highlight the need for further research on suicidal and violent ideation in people with mental health problems including, but not limited to, their association with adverse behavioral outcomes, as well as the need to routinely assess both suicidal and violent ideation in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) is the only empirically supported family therapy model designed to treat adolescent depression, including those at risk for suicide, and their families. ABFT aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective parent-child relationship. To study the effectiveness of ABFT compared with Treatment as Usual (TAU) in reducing suicidal ideation in clinically depressed adolescents. Sixty adolescents (86.7% girls), aged 13 to 18 years (M = 14.9), with major depressive disorder referred to two CAMHS were randomized to receive 16 weeks of ABFT or TAU. ABFT consisted of weekly therapy sessions according to the treatment manual. Suicidal ideation was measured with the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior at 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 weeks. Linear mixed models were fitted to test our hypothesis, time was the only factor to have a significant effect on suicidal ideation t (31.05) = −3.32, p <.01. Participants in both treatment groups reported significantly reduced suicidal ideation, but the majority were still in the clinical range after 16 weeks of treatment. ABFT was not associated with more favorable outcomes than TAU. Findings must be interpreted with caution given the study limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have reported an increased risk of hospital-treated deliberate self-harm (DSH) in offspring who have lost a parent, but inconclusive findings regarding differences between loss from suicide and accidents. The present study aimed to investigate the association between parental death by external causes before age 18 and hospital-treated DSH, and potential differences between different accidents and suicide. This nested-case–control study was based on data from longitudinal Norwegian registers. Subjects comprised 12,526 people born between 1970 and 2003 who received acute somatic treatment because of DSH at hospitals and associated services between 2008 and 2013 (cases), and 222,362 controls matched for gender and date of birth with no recorded DSH treatment. Information concerning deceased parent's death and offspring's DSH treatment and socioeconomic data was merged. Data were analysed with conditional logistic regression. Results indicated that offspring who had lost a parent to suicide (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.92–2.80) and death by accidents such as falls, poisoning, and drowning (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.38–2.33) had a significantly increased risk of hospital-treated DSH compared to offspring who had not experienced such loss. Parental bereavement from transport accidents and other external causes were not associated with significantly increased risks. No differences were evident for different genders of deceased, ages at bereavement, or genders of bereaved. The improved identification of bereaved offspring at particular risk of hospital-treated DSH should be utilized to implement effective prevention and treatment programs in specialist healthcare aimed at the individuals at highest risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a disabling mood disorder, profoundly affecting a large number of adolescent's quality of life. To date, no obvious treatment of choice for MDD in adolescents is available and progress in the treatment of depressed adolescents will have important public health implications. Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT), as the only empirically supported family therapy model designed to treat adolescent depression, aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective parent–child relationship. Objective: To study the effectiveness of ABFT compared with treatment as usual (TAU) delivered within child- and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adolescents with MDD. Method: Sixty adolescents (86.7% girls), aged 13–18 years (M = 14.9, SD = 1.35), with MDD referred to two CAMHS were randomized to 16 weeks of ABFT or TAU. ABFT consisted of weekly therapy sessions (family/individual or both) according to the treatment manual. TAU was not monitored. Primary outcomes were assessed by blinded evaluators at baseline and post-treatment with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Self-reported (Beck Depression Inventory-II, BDI-II) depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline, and after 4, 6, 8, 10,12, 14, and 16 weeks. Analyses were performed according to intent-to-treat principles. Results: At post-treatment, clinician-rated remission rates on the HAMD (5% in ABFT and 3.33% in TAU, p = 1, OR = 1.54, Fisher's exact test) and self-reported symptoms of depression on the BDI-II did not differ significantly between groups (X2[2, N = 60] = 0.06, p = 0.97). In both treatment groups participants reported significantly reduced depressive symptoms, but the majority (63.3%) of adolescents were still in the clinical range after 16 weeks of treatment. Conclusion: ABFT was not superior to TAU. Remission and response rates were low in both groups, suggesting none of the treatments were effective in treating MDD in adolescents. Findings must be viewed in the context of the study's small sample size, missing data, and implementation challenges. Continued efforts to improve treatment for MDD in outpatient clinics are warranted. Future research should examine moderators of and mechanisms for individual differences to treatment response, as well as the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of implementing treatment models which may require extensive training and expertise to yield clinically meaningful improvements in non-research settings. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01830088 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01830088?term=Villab%C3%B8&draw=2&rank=1 Date of registration: April 12, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is a lack of research on whether healthcare use before and after a suicide attempt differs between refugees and the host population. We aimed to investigate if the patterns of specialised (inpatient and specialised outpatient) psychiatric and somatic healthcare use, 3 years before and after a suicide attempt, differ between refugees and the Swedish-born individuals in Sweden. Additionally, we aimed to explore if specialised healthcare use differed among refugee suicide attempters according to their sex, age, education or receipt of disability pension. Methods: All refugees and Swedish-born individuals, 20–64 years of age, treated for suicide attempt in specialised healthcare during 2004–2013 (n = 85,771 suicide attempters, of which 4.5% refugees) were followed 3 years before and after (Y − 3 to Y + 3) the index suicide attempt (t0) regarding their specialised healthcare use. Annual adjusted prevalence with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of specialised healthcare use were assessed by generalized estimating equations (GEE). Additionally, in analyses among the refugees, GEE models were stratified by sex, age, educational level and disability pension. Results: Compared to Swedish-born, refugees had lower prevalence rates of psychiatric and somatic healthcare use during the observation period. During Y + 1, 25% (95% CI 23–28%) refugees and 30% (95% CI 29–30%) Swedish-born used inpatient psychiatric healthcare. Among refugees, a higher specialised healthcare use was observed in disability pension recipients than non-recipients. Conclusion: Refugees used less specialised healthcare, before and after a suicide attempt, relative to the Swedish-born. Strengthened cultural competence among healthcare professionals and better health literacy among the refugees may improve healthcare access in refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite a reported high rate of mental disorders in refugees, scientific knowledge on their risk of suicide attempt and suicide is scarce. We aimed to investigate (1) the risk of suicide attempt and suicide in refugees in Sweden, according to their country of birth, compared with Swedish-born individuals and (2) to what extent time period effects, socio-demographics, labour market marginalisation (LMM) and morbidity explain these associations. Methods: Three cohorts comprising the entire population of Sweden, 16–64 years at 31 December 1999, 2004 and 2009 (around 5 million each, of which 3.3–5.0% refugees), were followed for 4 years each through register linkage. Additionally, the 2004 cohort was followed for 9 years, to allow analyses by refugees' country of birth. Crude and multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed. The multivariate models were adjusted for socio-demographic, LMM and morbidity factors. Results: In multivariate analyses, HRs regarding suicide attempt and suicide in refugees, compared with Swedish-born, ranged from 0.38–1.25 and 0.16–1.20 according to country of birth, respectively. Results were either non-significant or showed lower risks for refugees. Exceptions were refugees from Iran (HR 1.25; 95% CI 1.14–1.41) for suicide attempt. The risk for suicide attempt in refugees compared with the Swedish-born diminished slightly across time periods. Conclusions: Refugees seem to be protected from suicide attempt and suicide relative to Swedish-born, which calls for more studies to disentangle underlying risk and protective factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The prevalence of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is high in young adults. However, few studies have examined risk in this specific age group. We, therefore, examined the relative influence and interactive nature of a wide range of potential sociodemographic and sick leave related risk factors in young adults, aged 18–35 years, using Norwegian register data. Methods: All subjects with at least one episode of hospital presentation for DSH registered in the Norwegian Patient Register during the period 2008–2013 were compared with age, gender and date matched population controls using a nested case–control design. The relative influence of factors and their interactions were assessed using conditional logistic regression and recursive partitioning models. Results: 9 873 study cases were compared to 186 092 controls. Socioeconomic status, marital status, sick leave and several demographic factors influenced risk for DSH. Specifically, low education (OR 7.44, 95% CI 6.82–8.12), current sick leave due to psychiatric disorders (OR 18.25, 95% CI 14.97–22.25) and being previously married (OR 3.83, 95% CI 3.37–4.36) showed the highest effect sizes. Importantly, there was an interaction between education and sick leave, where those with either low education and no sick leave (OR 13.33, 95% CI 11.66–15.23) or high education and sick leave (OR 18. 87, 95% CI 17.41–24.21) were the subgroups at highest risk. Conclusion: DSH in young adults is associated with multiple sociodemographic and health disadvantages. Importantly, the two high-risk subgroups imply different pathways of risk and a need for differentiated preventative efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms are often interrelated in clinical settings. Insecure attachment may be a risk factor for suicidal ideation in depressed adolescents. To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the association between self-reported insecure attachment styles to both parents and suicidal ideation in a clinical sample of adolescents with depression. Methods: Fifty clinically depressed adolescents (13-17 years, 84% girls) completed self-reported measures of suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, and attachment style to parents. Results: There was a statistically significant bivariate association between higher levels of attachment anxiety in relation to mothers and fathers and higher levels of suicidal ideation. When attachments to both parents were included in the same multivariate model, only attachment anxiety to the mother was significantly associated with the level of suicidal ideation. Selfreported depressive symptoms remained significantly associated with the level of suicidal ideation in all analyses. Younger adolescents with attachment anxiety reported higher levels of suicidal ideation than older adolescents. Conclusion: Conclusions about directionality and causality of associations between insecure attachment and suicidal ideation are limited due to the cross-sectional design. Our findings suggest that attachment anxiety in relation to the mother and father is associated with increased levels of suicidal ideation. Implication of these findings for treatment selection is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents us with unusual challenges to the global health system and economics. The pandemic may not have an immediate impact on suicide rates, however, given that it is likely to result in a confluence of risk factors for suicide and economic crisis, it is highly possibly that it will lead to increases in suicide rates in the long-run. Elderly persons are more likely to live alone, be socially isolated during COVID-19 and have physical health problems, which are risk factors for suicide. Young children and health professionals may also be population at risk. Isolation, quarantine and the economic crisis that follows may impact mental health significantly. The International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR) is an organization dedicated to promote high standards of research and scholarship in the field of suicidal behaviour to support efforts to prevent suicide globally. This IASR's board position paper gives recommendations for suicide research during the COVID-10 pandemic. Clinical research has to be modified due to COVID-19 shutdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Suicide attempts represent an important public health burden. Centralised electronic health record (EHR) systems have high potential to provide suicide attempt surveillance, to inform public health action aimed at reducing risk for suicide attempt in the population, and to provide data-driven clinical decision support for suicide risk assessment across healthcare settings. To exploit this potential, we designed the Catalonia Suicide Risk Code Epidemiology (CSRC-Epi) study. Using centralised EHR data from the entire public healthcare system of Catalonia, Spain, the CSRC-Epi study aims to estimate reliable suicide attempt incidence rates, identify suicide attempt risk factors and develop validated suicide attempt risk prediction tools. Methods and analysis The CSRC-Epi study is registrybased study, specifically, a two-stage exposure-enriched nested case–control study of suicide attempts during the period 2014–2019 in Catalonia, Spain. The primary study outcome consists of first and repeat attempts during the observation period. Cases will come from a case register linked to a suicide attempt surveillance programme, which offers in-depth psychiatric evaluations to all Catalan residents who present to clinical care with any suspected risk for suicide. Predictor variables will come from centralised EHR systems representing all relevant healthcare settings. The study’s sampling frame will be constructed using populationrepresentative administrative lists of Catalan residents. Inverse probability weights will restore representativeness of the original population. Analysis will include the calculation of age-standardised and sex-standardised suicide attempt incidence rates. Logistic regression will identify suicide attempt risk factors on the individual level (ie, relative risk) and the population level (ie, population attributable risk proportions). Machine learning techniques will be used to develop suicide attempt risk prediction tools. Ethics and dissemination This protocol is approved by the Parc de Salut Mar Clinical Research Ethics Committee (2017/7431/I). Dissemination will include peer-reviewed scientific publications, scientific reports for hospital and government authorities, and updated clinical guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous research has linked loss of a parent during childhood to reduced educational aspirations, school performance, and educational attainment later in life. The potential effect of maternal and paternal bereavement on attainment at all educational levels is, however, unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the potential influence of parental death by external causes on completion of compulsory education, high school, vocational education, and University or College education.Methods: The study was based on data from three national longitudinal registers in Norway. The study population comprised 373,104 individuals born between January 1st 1970 and December 31st 1994. Information concerning deceased parents' cause and date of death and offspring's education and sociodemographic data were retrieved. Data were analysed with Cox regression.Results: Children who had experienced parental death by external causes had a significantly reduced hazard ratio (HR) of completing all educational levels compared to children who did not have such experiences. The largest effects were evident for completion of high school (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.65-0.71) and University or College education (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.70-0.80). No differences were evident for different causes of death, genders of deceased or ages at bereavement, and generally no significant interactions between gender of the bereaved offspring and predictor variables were evident for completion of all educational levels.Conclusion: Parental death by external causes has vast and long-lasting impacts on offspring's educational attainment at all levels. Health care interventions aimed at supporting bereaved children and adolescents should focus on challenges related to educational progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient registry is a valuable source for identification of deliberate self-harm (DSH) incidents on a population basis; however, little research has provided sufficient details that could inform best utilization of this complicated data source for DSH research and statistics. In this study we want to use data from the Norwegian Patient Register to delineate a diagnostic coding system to identify medically treated DSH incidents, to profile general characteristics of these incidents, and to estimate incidence rate of DSHs in the national population of Norway. Methods: We obtained all records of patient contacts to somatic hospitals and emergency centers due to external causes from 2008 through 2013. For each contact, we retrieved clinical data on primary and comorbid diagnoses, urgency of contact, etc., alongside with personal general information. After careful mining, the data were further processed following a multi-step analytic strategy. Descriptive analysis was used to profile DSH incidents and to estimate incidence rates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Findings: From 1 459 384 eligible incident contacts for emergency injury treatment, we identified 13 533 incidents that had a recorded diagnosis of DSH, i.e., with a supplemental code of X6n. Upon delineation of these recorded DSHs, we devised a diagnostic coding system to identify all possible DSH incidents. This yielded a total of 38 433 incidents to be considered as likely incidents of DSH (adjusted incidents)–a number that is 2.84 times higher than that of the recorded DSH incidents during the study period. While the proposed diagnostic system captured more incidents by males and old adults, the adjusted DSHs remained more common in females than males, and occurred most frequently within young people of 18–21 years. These incidents imply about 6400 DSH incidents from 5100 persons per year and correspond to a yearly cumulative incidence rate of 121.0 (95% CI: 113.4–128.2) per 100000 population over 10 years old with particularly high rates in teenage girls of 15–19 years old (296.1/100000) and females and males of 20–24 years old (282.5 and 178.8/100000, respectively). Conclusion: The insightful details of data processing and the rich findings from this study underscore the importance of patient registry in studying and reporting DSH incidents on a population level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Studies have shown that people with physical illness are at increased risk of suicide, but knowledge on the association between absence from work due to specific physical health problems and suicide risk is limited. This study aimed to examine the relationship between suicide risk and physical illness requiring leave from work across a range of specific physical diagnoses, and to study the interactions of mental illness and socioeconomic factors on this relationship. Methods Using a nested case-control design, 9313 suicide cases and 169 235 matched controls were retrieved and interlinked from Norwegian national registries. Data on sick leave and related physical illness were derived from claims for sickness benefit and analyzed using conditional logistic regression. Results For males, the risk of suicide increased progressively with the number of previous physical illness-related absences and the duration of recent physical illness-related absences. Absences related to digestive, musculoskeletal and neurological disorders as well as cancer and accidents/injuries were associated with a significantly increased risk of suicide. In contrast, females with a history of physical illness-related absence and a diagnosis of most organ or system specific illnesses were at a relatively reduced risk of suicide. In both genders, the suicide risk associated with physical illness resulting in absence from work differentiated significantly by history of sickness absence due to mental illness, and by education and income levels. Conclusions The risk of suicide associated with physical illness requiring leave from work varied significantly by gender and by education and income status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death globally in youths, and suicidal behavior and self‐harm are major clinical concerns. This article updates the previous practitioner review (2012) with the aims of integrating new research evidence, including that reported in this Special Issue. Methods: The article reviews scientific evidence related to steps in the care pathway for identifying and treating youths with elevated suicide/self‐harm risk, specifically: (a) screening and risk assessment; (b) treatment; and (c) community‐level suicide prevention strategies. Results: Review of current evidence indicates that major advances have been achieved in knowledge regarding clinical and preventive practices for reducing suicide and self‐harm risk in adolescents. The evidence supports the value of brief screeners for identifying youths with elevated suicide/self‐harm risk and the efficacy of some treatments for suicidal and self‐harm behavior. Dialectical behavior therapy currently meets Level 1 criteria (2 independent trials supporting efficacy) as the first well‐established treatment for self‐harm, and other approaches have shown efficacy in single randomized controlled trials. The effectiveness of some community‐based suicide prevention strategies for reducing suicide mortality and suicide attempt rates has been demonstrated. Conclusions: Current evidence can guide practitioners in delivering effective care for youth suicide/self‐harm risk. Treatments and preventive interventions that address the psychosocial environment and enhance the ability of trusted adults to protect and support youths, while also addressing the psychological needs of youths appear to yield the greatest benefits. Although additional research is needed, our current challenge is to do our best to effectively utilize new knowledge to improve care and outcomes in our communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge is lacking on the long‐term outcomes of treatment for adolescents with repetitive suicidal and self‐harming behavior. Furthermore, the pathways through which treatment effects may operate are poorly understood. Our aims were to investigate enduring treatment effects of dialectical behavior therapy adapted for adolescents (DBT‐A) compared to enhanced usual care (EUC) through a prospective 3‐year follow‐up and to analyze possible mediators of treatment effects. Methods: Interview and self‐report data covering the follow‐up interval were collected from 92% of the adolescents who participated in the original randomized trial. Trial registration number: NCT01593202 (www.ClinicalTrials.gov). Results: At the 3‐year follow‐up DBT‐A remained superior to EUC in reducing the frequency of self‐harm, whereas for suicidal ideation, hopelessness and depressive and borderline symptoms and global level of functioning there were no inter‐group differences, with no sign of symptom relapse in either of the participant groups. A substantial proportion (70.8%) of the effect of DBT‐A on self‐harm frequency over the long‐term was mediated through a reduction in participants' experience of hopelessness during the trial treatment phase. Receiving more than 3 months follow‐up treatment after completion of the trial treatment was associated with further enhanced outcomes in patients who had received DBT‐A. Conclusions: There were on average no between‐group differences at the 3‐year follow‐up in clinical outcomes such as suicidal ideation, hopelessness, depressive and borderline symptoms. The significantly and consistently larger long‐term reduction in self‐harm behavior for adolescents having received DBT‐A compared with enhanced usual care, however, suggests that DBT‐A may be a favorable treatment alternative for adolescents with repetitive self‐harming behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide mortality among immigrant groups is an important health issue, particularly in countries with growing segments of immigrant populations such as Norway. Through linkage of Norwegian national registers we wanted to estimate suicide rates (per 100,000 population) in immigrant groups and to profile characteristics of suicide by immigration background with respect to sex, age, method and seasonality of suicide as well as time since immigrating to Norway. Among all 11,409 suicides during 1992–2012, 1,139 (10%) were individuals with an immigration background. Suicide rate was lower in first-generation immigrants (foreign-born persons to two foreign-born parents) than native Norwegians (9.53 vs 12.22, P < 0.01), with a significant difference confined to male rates only. Foreign-born persons with at least one Norwegian-born parent had significantly higher suicide rates than natives in both sexes (22.42 vs 18.03 in males, 11.67 vs 6.54 in females, P < 0.01). The most frequently used suicide method in all the population groups was hanging; this method accounted for 44.0% of all suicides of first-generation immigrants, 45.2% of all suicides of foreign-born persons with at least one Norwegian-born parent, and 35.4% of all suicides of natives. Suicide by firearms accounted for a much smaller proportion of cases of first-generation immigrants (6.7%) and foreign-born persons with at least one Norwegian-born parent (6.8%) than cases of native Norwegians (20.7%). In terms of monthly distribution, suicides of first-generation immigrants displayed two peaks, in May and in November (P = 0.01). More than 25% of all first-generation immigrant suicides occurred in the first five years after immigration; but differences in time since immigration were observed by sex and country group of origin, in particular among those aged 35 years or less when moving to Norway. In conclusion, there are notable differences in characteristics of suicides by immigration background. Knowledge of immigrant mortality according to suicide method, seasonality of suicide, and time since immigration may be useful when planning suicide preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies from several countries suggest that erecting fences on bridges more commonly used for suicide by jumping may be an effective way of reducing the risk of suicide by jumping from these bridges. Distribution of suicides by jumping off bridges has not yet been studied on a national level in any country. This study included all suicides by jumping from high places registered in the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry (COD) in the period 1999–2010 (n = 319). Combining data from the COD registry and information from police records, 71 cases of suicide by jumping off a bridge were identified involving 36 bridges. This form of suicide constituted approximately 1% of all suicides in Norway in the period 1999–2010. Almost half of these suicides were registered at only 6 bridges. Three Norwegian bridges were secured during the observation period of this study. Two bridges had barriers installed on the full length of the bridge with 11 suicides registered before barriers were installed, and none after. On the 1 bridge that was only partially secured, no change in numbers of suicides was observed after barriers were installed. One-third of jumps from bridges occurred over land. We found that although suicide by jumping off bridges was a relatively rare event, there is a potential for saving lives by installing physical barriers on bridges that are more commonly used for suicide by jumping. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While the DSM-5 alternative model of personality disorder (PD) diagnosis allows the field to systematically compare categorical and dimensional classifications, the ICD-11 proposal suggests a radical change by restricting the classification of PDs to one category, deleting all specific types, basing clinical service provision exclusively upon a severity dimension, and restricting trait domains to secondary qualifiers without defining cutoff points. This article reflects broad international agreement about the state of PD diagnosis. It is argued that diagnosis according to the ICD-11 proposal is based on broad, potentially stigmatizing descriptions of impaired functioning and ignores much of the impressive body of research and treatment guidelines that have advanced the care of adults and adolescents with borderline and other PDs. Before radically changing classification, which highly impacts the provision of health care, head-to-head field trials coupled with the views of patients as well as thorough debate among scientists are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide mortality and the rates by specific methods in a population may change over time in response to concurrent changes in relevant factors in society. This study aimed to identify significant changing points in method-specific suicide mortality from 1969 to 2012 in Norway.Method: Data on suicide mortality by specific methods and by sex and age were retrieved from the Norwegian Cause-of-Death Register. Long-term trends in age-standardized rates of suicide mortality were analyzed by using joinpoint regression analysis.Results: The most frequently used suicide method in the total population was hanging, followed by poisoning and firearms. Men chose suicide by firearms more often than women, whereas poisoning and drowning were more frequently used by women. The joinpoint analysis revealed that the overall trend of suicide mortality significantly changed twice along the period of 1969 to 2012 for both sexes. The male age-standardized suicide rate increased by 3.1% per year until 1989, and decreased by 1.2% per year between 1994 and 2012. Among females the long-term suicide rate increased by 4.0% per year until 1988, decreased by 5.5% through 1995, and then stabilized. Both sexes experienced an upward trend for suicide by hanging during the 44-year observation period, with a particularly significant increase in 15-24 year old males. The most distinct change among men was seen for firearms after 1988 with a significant decrease through 2012 of around 5% per year. For women, significant reductions since 1985-88 were observed for suicide by drowning and poisoning.Conclusions: The present study demonstrates different time trends for different suicide methods with significant reductions in suicide by firearms, drowning and poisoning after the peak in the suicide rate in the late 1980s. Suicide by means of hanging continuously increased, but did not fully compensate for the reduced use of other methods. This lends some support for the effectiveness of method-specific suicide preventive measures, such as restrictions to the access to firearms, which had been implemented in Norway during the relevant time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was predictor of suicidal behavior even when adjusting for comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other salient risk factors. To study this, we randomly selected 308 patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of suicide risk. Baseline interviews were performed within the first days of the stay. Information concerning the number of self-harm admissions to general hospitals over the subsequent 6 months was retrieved through linkage with the regional hospital registers. A censored regression analysis of hospital admissions for self-harm indicated significant associations with both PTSD (β = .21, p < .001) and BPD (β = .27, p < .001). A structural model comprising two latent BPD factors, dysregulation and relationship problems, as well as PTSD and several other variables, demonstrated that PTSD was an important predictor of the number of self-harm admissions to general hospitals(B = 1.52, p < .01). Dysregulation predicted self-harm directly (B = 0.28, p < .05), and also through PTSD [corrected]. These results suggested that PTSD and related dysregulation problems could be important treatment targets for a reduction in the risk of severe self-harm in high-risk psychiatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder are well-established risk factors for suicidal behavior. This study compared depressed suicide attempters with and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder with respect to additional diagnoses, global functioning, depressive symptoms, substance abuse, history of traumatic exposure, and suicidal behavior. Adult patients consecutively admitted to a general hospital after a suicide attempt were interviewed and assessed for DSM-IV diagnosis and clinical correlates. Sixty-four patients (71%) were diagnosed with depression; of them, 21 patients (32%) had posttraumatic stress disorder. There were no group differences in social adjustment, depressive symptoms, or suicidal intent. However, the group with comorbid depression and posttraumatic stress disorder had more additional Axis I diagnoses, a higher degree of childhood trauma exposure, and more often reported previous suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-harm, and vengeful suicidal motives. These findings underline the clinical importance of diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in suicide attempters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Studies have shown that adolescents with a history of both suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm report more mental health problems and other psychosocial problems than adolescents who report only one or none of these types of self-harm. The current study aimed to examine the use of child and adolescent psychiatric services by adolescents with both suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm, compared to other adolescents, and to assess the psychosocial variables that characterize adolescents with both suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-harm who report contact. Methods Data on lifetime self-harm, contact with child and adolescent psychiatric services, and various psychosocial risk factors were collected in a cross-sectional sample (response rate = 92.7 %) of 11,440 adolescents aged 14-17 years who participated in a school survey in Oslo, Norway. Results Adolescents who reported any self-harm were more likely than other adolescents to have used child and adolescent psychiatric services, with a particularly elevated likelihood among those with both suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm (OR = 9.3). This finding remained significant even when controlling for psychosocial variables. In adolescents with both suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm, symptoms of depression, eating problems, and the use of illicit drugs were associated with a higher likelihood of contact with child and adolescent psychiatric services, whereas a non-Western immigrant background was associated with a lower likelihood. Conclusions In this study, adolescents who reported self-harm were significantly more likely than other adolescents to have used child and adolescent psychiatric services, and adolescents who reported a history of both suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm were more likely to have used such services, even after controlling for other psychosocial risk factors. In this high-risk subsample, various psychosocial problems increased the probability of contact with child and adolescent psychiatric services, naturally reflecting the core tasks of the services, confirming that they represents an important area for interventions that aim to reduce selfharming behaviour. Such interventions should include systematic screening for early recognition of self-harming behaviours, and treatment programmes tailored to the needs of teenagers with a positive screen. Possible barriers to receive mental health services for adolescents with immigrant backgrounds should be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]