Suicide and Aging II: The Psychobiological Interface

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeates Conwell ◽  
Wilfrid N. Raby ◽  
Eric D. Caine
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Functional Integrity ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Serotonin System ◽  
Neuroendocrine Systems

There is an accumulating body of research suggesting that suicidal behavior may be associated with abnormalities of the central serotonin system. Other monoaminergic, peptidergic, and neuroendocrine systems have been implicated as well. A review of studies that examine neurobiological variables in postmortem tissue of suicide victims and controls reveals that investigators in most instances have viewed age as a confound to be controlled rather than considering it as a variable of interest. However, the close associations between aging and increased suicide rates, and the knowledge that the functional integrity of many of these same systems changes with normal and abnormal aging processes, raise the possibility that biological aging contributes to suicide risk, and that the underlying neurobiology of suicide in the elderly differs from that of younger people. The few available studies that did examine the association of age with neurobiological measures indicate directions for future research into the role that aging may play in determining the biological bases of suicide risk.

scholarly journals Understanding Suicide Risk Within the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Framework: Insights, Challenges, and Future Research Considerations

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine R. Glenn ◽  
Christine B. Cha ◽  
Evan M. Kleiman ◽  
Matthew K. Nock
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Domain Criteria ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Research Domain ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Broad Overview

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Prior research has focused primarily on sociodemographic and psychiatric risk factors with little improvement in the prediction or prevention of suicidal behavior over time. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) may be an especially useful framework for advancing research in this area. This article provides a brief and broad overview of research on suicidal behavior relating to each of the RDoC domains—highlighting the RDoC construct(s) where research has focused, the construct(s) where research is lacking, and suggestions for future research directions. We also discuss major challenges for suicide research within the RDoC framework, including the intersection of RDoC domains, interaction of domains with the environment, incorporation of developmental stage, integration of distal and proximal processes, and inclusion of suicide-specific constructs. We conclude by underscoring important considerations for future research aimed at using the RDoC framework to study suicidal behavior and other forms of psychopathology.

Child and Adolescent Suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina Before and After the War (1992–1995)

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almir Fajkic ◽  
Orhan Lepara ◽  
Martin Voracek ◽  
Nestor D. Kapusta ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Southeastern Europe ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Sex And Age Differences

Background: Evidence on youth suicides from Southeastern Europe is scarce. We are not aware of previous reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which experienced war from 1992 to 1995. Durkheim’s theory of suicide predicts decreased suicide rates in wartime and increased rates afterward. Aims: To compare child and adolescent suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina before and after the war. Methods: Data on youth suicide for prewar (1986–90) and postwar (2002–06) periods were analyzed with respect to prevalence, sex and age differences, and suicide methods. Suicide data from 1991 through 2001 were not available. Results: Overall youth suicide rates were one-third lower in the postwar than in the prewar period. This effect was most pronounced for girls, whose postwar suicide rates almost halved, and for 15–19-year-old boys, whose rates decreased by about a one-fourth. Suicides increased among boys aged 14 or younger. Firearm suicides almost doubled proportionally and were the predominant postwar method, while the most common prewar method had been hanging. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate the need for public education in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the role of firearm accessibility in youth suicide and for instructions on safe storage in households. Moreover, raising societal awareness about suicide risk factors and suicide prevention is needed.

Perceptions of Adjunctive Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Prevent Suicidal Behavior Among High Suicide-Risk Outpatient Participants

Crisis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 451-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan S. Chesin ◽  
Beth S. Brodsky ◽  
Brandon Beeler ◽  
Christopher A. Benjamin-Phillips ◽  
Ida Taghavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Group Treatment ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Treatment Engagement ◽  
Suicidal Thinking ◽  
Prevention Interventions ◽  
Risk Patients

Abstract. Background: Few investigations of patient perceptions of suicide prevention interventions exist, limiting our understanding of the processes and components of treatment that may be engaging and effective for high suicide-risk patients. Aims: Building on promising quantitative data that showed that adjunct mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to prevent suicidal behavior (MBCT-S) reduced suicidal thinking and depression among high suicide-risk patients, we subjected MBCT-S to qualitative inspection by patient participants. Method: Data were provided by 15 patients who completed MBCT-S during a focus group and/or via a survey. Qualitative data were coded using thematic analysis. Themes were summarized using descriptive analysis. Results: Most patients viewed the intervention as acceptable and feasible. Patients attributed MBCT-S treatment engagement and clinical improvement to improved emotion regulation. A minority of patients indicated that factors related to the group treatment modality were helpful. A small percentage of patients found that aspects of the treatment increased emotional distress and triggered suicidal thinking. These experiences, however, were described as fleeting and were not linked to suicidal behavior. Limitations: The sample size was small. Conclusion: Information gathered from this study may assist in refining MBCT-S and treatments to prevent suicidal behavior among high suicide-risk patients generally.

Stress, Cortisol and Suicide Risk

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daryl Brian O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
Global Health Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity ◽  
The Impact

Suicide is a global health issue accounting for at least 800,000 deaths per annum. Numerous models have been proposed that differ in their emphasis on the role of psychological, social, psychiatric and neurobiological factors in explaining suicide risk. Central to many models is a stress-diathesis component which states that suicidal behavior is the result of an interaction between acutely stressful events and a susceptibility to suicidal behavior (a diathesis). This article presents an overview of studies that demonstrate that stress and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, as measured by cortisol levels, are important additional risk factors for suicide. Evidence for other putative stress-related suicide risk factors including childhood trauma, impaired executive function, impulsivity and disrupted sleep are considered together with the impact of family history of suicide, perinatal and epigenetic influences on suicide risk.

scholarly journals A Bibliometric Analysis of Human-Machine Interaction Methodology for Electric-Powered Wheelchairs Driving from 1998 to 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7567
Author(s):  
Xiaochen Zhang ◽  
Lanxin Hui ◽  
Linchao Wei ◽  
Fuchuan Song ◽  
Fei Hu
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Machine Interaction ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Power Wheelchairs ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Machine Interaction

Electric power wheelchairs (EPWs) enhance the mobility capability of the elderly and the disabled, while the human-machine interaction (HMI) determines how well the human intention will be precisely delivered and how human-machine system cooperation will be efficiently conducted. A bibliometric quantitative analysis of 1154 publications related to this research field, published between 1998 and 2020, was conducted. We identified the development status, contributors, hot topics, and potential future research directions of this field. We believe that the combination of intelligence and humanization of an EPW HMI system based on human-machine collaboration is an emerging trend in EPW HMI methodology research. Particular attention should be paid to evaluating the applicability and benefits of the EPW HMI methodology for the users, as well as how much it contributes to society. This study offers researchers a comprehensive understanding of EPW HMI studies in the past 22 years and latest trends from the evolutionary footprints and forward-thinking insights regarding future research.

Firearms and Suicide in Australia

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 500-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher H. Cantor ◽  
Terry Lewin
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Young Males ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Firearm Suicide ◽  
Proportional Increase ◽  
Using Data

Australia has a moderate overall suicide rate but an extremely high male firearm suicide rate. Using data covering the years 1961–1985, a series of multiple regression based analyses were performed. During this period, overall suicide rates fell but firearm suicides remained constant with a resulting increase in the proportion of suicides by firearms. There has been an increase in suicides in the young offset by a decline in the elderly. Young males showed the greatest proportional increase in the use of firearms. A limited regional analysis supported the hypothesis that lack of legislative restrictions on long guns in Queensland with a greater household prevalence of such weapons and different cultural attitudes were associated with higher overall and firearm suicide rates. Such findings are consistent with reports from North America, although trends in Australia are more modest. Reducing the availability and cultural acceptance of firearms is likely to decrease suicide rates, especially in males.

The Recent Rise of Suicide Mortality in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martínez-Alés ◽  
Tammy Jiang ◽  
Katherine M. Keyes ◽  
Jaimie L. Gradus
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Subsequent Decrease

Suicide is a major public health concern in the United States. Between 2000 and 2018, US suicide rates increased by 35%, contributing to the stagnation and subsequent decrease in US life expectancy. During 2019, suicide declined modestly, mostly owing to slight reductions in suicides among Whites. Suicide rates, however, continued to increase or remained stable among all other racial/ethnic groups, and little is known about recent suicide trends among other vulnerable groups. This article ( a) summarizes US suicide mortality trends over the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, ( b) reviews potential group-level causes of increased suicide risk among subpopulations characterized by markers of vulnerability to suicide, and ( c) advocates for combining recent advances in population-based suicide prevention with a socially conscious perspective that captures the social, economic, and political contexts in which suicide risk unfolds over the life course of vulnerable individuals. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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