Clinical Trend of the Week (October 14-20): Suicidal Thoughts
Several troubling recent revelations about suicide resulted in this week's top search term. Not only was October 10 recognized as Mental Health Awareness Day, a new study recently found an increase in suicide attempts among adults in the United States in recent years. Most notably, the group affected were younger, socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. Suicide attempts among adults aged 21 years and older increased from 0.62% in 2004-2005 to 0.79% in 2012-2013; most adults who attempted suicide were younger than 50 years and most were women. A separate study from the United Kingdom found that translocator protein (TSPO) levels, a marker of microglial inflammation, were increased in individuals with major depressive disorder, specifically those who experienced suicidal thoughts. This further supports the link between depression and brain inflammation. Finally, a new study reiterated that loneliness is a key risk factor for suicidal ideation among older US veterans and that strong social support may be protective.
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Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Clinical Trends for October 2017 - Medscape - Oct 20, 2017.
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