The risk of suicide attempts is twice as likely among people with comorbid personality and mood disorders, an analysis of 597 participants in three prospective cohort studies shows.
In the analysis, Dr. Pekka Jylhä and associates found that having any personality disorder (PD) diagnosis increased the lifetime suicide attempt rate by 90% and suicide attempts during the follow-up periods by 102%.
Overall, 219 (36.7%) subjects had 718 lifetime suicide attempts, and 88 (14.7%) patients had 242 suicide attempts during the prospective follow-up periods of up to 5 years. During major depressive episodes, the presence of any PD increased the rate of a new suicide attempt by 39%. Having a cluster C disorder nearly doubled (90% increase) the rate of suicide attempts. Having an avoidant (n = 108) or dependent (n = 26) PD increased the rate of suicide attempts by 165% (95% confidence interval,104.2%-244.7%), reported Dr. Jylhä of Finland’s National Institute of Health and Welfare and the University of Helsinki.
The excess risk of suicide attempts “is mostly due to the fact that patients with comorbid PDs spend more time in depressive episodes than those without comorbid PDs,” the authors wrote. “This putative causal pathway has important clinical implications because major depressive episodes are treatable. However, direct risk-modifying effects of PDs are also likely to exist.”
Read the article in the Journal of Affective Disorders (2016 Jan 15;190:632-9).