Archive | 2021
Mood and anxiety disorders in suicide and suicide attempters
Abstract
Suicidal behaviour is closely connected with mood disorders. Virtually all mood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders carry an increased risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide. Psychiatric disorder may be an almost necessary, yet insufficient, risk factor for suicide. More than a half of individuals who attempt or commit suicide meet diagnostic criteria for a mood disorder, most often comorbid with anxiety symptoms, substance use disorders, personality disorders, or in severe cases psychotic symptoms. The risk of suicidal behaviour in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive-disorders is often underestimated. Undertreatment, comorbidity, treatment non-compliance, and poor adherence, as well as a high frequency of non-responders are common problems and challenges in the treatment of suicidal persons. There is growing evidence of lower risk of suicidal behaviour during closely monitored long-term treatment of suicidal patients having mood disorder, especially bipolar illness, indicating that treatment adherence is an important factor in medical diagnostic-specific suicide prevention.