Citation

Romero S, Colom F, Iosif AM, Cruz N, Pacchiaroti I, Sanchez-Moreno J, Vieta E. J. Clin. Psychiatry 2007; 68(10): 1517-1521.

Affiliation

Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Physicians Postgraduate Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17960965

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between family history of completed suicide and suicidal behavior and other clinical variables in subjects with bipolar disorder. METHOD: 374 outpatients aged from 19 to 88 years (mean +/- SD age = 41.9 +/- 4.1 years) (54.3% female) meeting DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder type I or II or schizoaffective disorder, bipolar subtype, were included in the study. Forty-eight subjects with a family history of completed suicide were compared to 326 subjects without a family history of completed suicide regarding several clinical and demographic variables. The study was conducted from 2001 to 2004. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant demographic differences between bipolar disorder subjects with and without a family history of suicide. Bipolar disorder subjects with a family history of suicide showed higher rates of cluster C personality disorders than subjects without a family history of suicide (14.9% vs. 2.5%, OR = 6.72, 95% CI = 2.31 to 19.51, p < .001). Subjects with a family history of suicide also demonstrated a significantly greater lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts (52.2% vs. 25.5%, OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.7 to 6.0, p < .001). Results remained significant after controlling for all possible interactions. CONCLUSION: Family history of completed suicide is a significant risk factor associated with suicidal attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. These findings underscore the importance of identifying patients with a family history of suicide in order to provide prompt treatment and careful follow-up.

Language: en