Scientists from the University of California, Irvine have developed a method to identify blood biomarkers that could predict the suicide risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients.
The research is published in Translational Psychiatry and was conducted by Adolfo Sequeira et al.
In the study, the team used data in preserved blood samples and gene expression data from blood and brain samples from the same patients.
People with no psychiatric diagnosis (all non-suicides) and major depression subjects who died of suicide or from natural causes were included in the study.
After analyzing data from blood and brain samples from suicide victims, researchers found gene expression changes in stress response, including polyamine metabolism, circadian rhythm, immune dysregulation and telomere maintenance.
In addition to identifying individuals at highest risk for suicide, the team says the results can help researchers understand molecular changes in suicide victims.
Suicide is a serious global public health problem that accounts for close to 800,000 deaths per year.
In the United States alone, suicide rates increased by more than 35 percent over the past 20 years, with over 48,000 just last year.
Suicide prevention strategies and current medications, although helpful, have not stemmed the increase in self-inflicted deaths.
Many individuals do not disclose suicidal intentions despite frequent contact with healthcare professionals.
An estimated 30 percent of those who die by suicide visit a healthcare provider within a month of the suicide event.
A dramatic rise in suicide also occurs in the days to weeks following discharge from psychiatric hospitals.
Thus, there is a critical opportunity for healthcare providers to evaluate at-risk individuals with a blood biomarker test to assess serious suicide intent.
If you care about depression, please read studies about scientists find a core feature of depression, and this metal in the brain strongly linked to depression.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies about drug for mental health that may harm the brain, and results showing this mental problem can help predict dementia years before memory loss.
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