Suicide risk factors include depression, risky behaviors

• comments
• 
• 

Do you know anyone who is feeling depressed or has been showing signs of possible risky behavior? If you do then you probably should make an effort in showing them support because according to a new large scale study, they are more than likely to commit suicide.

BBC News writes that based on the research conducted by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ENCP), many attempted suicides are preceded by certain behaviors like agitation, impulsiveness and depression. The researchers have observed that people who are depressed and have shown signs of reckless driving, pacing around the room, or has no thought of what the consequence to their actions will be, have a 50 percent chance of committing suicide.

Dr. Dina Popovic, author of the study and a psychiatrist from the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona in Spain, said individuals experiencing depressive mixed-state or a condition that shows signs of depression and excitation or mania are 40 percent more prone to suicide than individuals suffering from depression alone.

The study, which has reviewed over 2800 patients suffering from depression, is a part of the international study called BRIDGE-II-MIX for the Suicide Prevention Day this September, Medical Daily reports. The researchers have noted that out of all the participants, 628 have attempted suicide and they are the ones exhibiting signs of mixed depression, like anxiety, irritability and some levels of polarity. This is after they have compared the patterns of behaviors between those individuals who have attempted suicide and those who have not.

Furthermore, the researchers have discovered that in accordance to the standard mental health guidelines, individuals at risk cannot be easily identified because when they used their own methods, they have been able to show 40 percent of the patients to be at risk while the standard only identified 12 percent of the individuals. The researchers have requested psychiatrists to test on the individual's family history, treatments and how well they have scored using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. This is a test that can rate the individual's ability to function well in social, work and individual settings.

Dr. Popovic relays that through the assessment of symptoms in almost all depressed patients is important because it can be therapeutic, Psych Central states. This study will be able to keep clinicians aware of the importance of the symptoms before they treat a depressed patient.