Citation

Ostroff RB, Giller E, Harkness L, Mason J. Am. J. Psychiatry 1985; 142(2): 224-227.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1985, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3970247

Abstract

Norepinephrine and epinephrine were measured serially in 24-hour urine collections from 99 male psychiatric inpatients with mixed diagnoses. The group was blindly divided into those with a previous history of at least one suicide attempt (N = 38) and those without such a history (N = 61). The ratio of norepinephrine-to-epinephrine levels was significantly lower in the group with a history of suicide attempts. The authors discuss the possibility that a low norepinephrine-to-epinephrine ratio is a risk factor for suicidal behavior.

Language: en