The knowledge about the causes of suicide still lags far behind what the medical community knows about many other life-threatening medical conditions and illnesses. The explanation consists in part on the fact that the stigma surrounding suicide has limited suicide research. We have just started to uncover the complex factors that contribute to suicide over the last 25 years.
According to various research studies trying to understand the complex phenomenon of suicide, mental disorders can be blamed in part for an increased risk for suicide. Many studies have shown that the most common disorders among people who die by suicide are mood disorders and especially major depression. Personality disorders, substance use and schizophrenia are also common factors.
A new large international study, known as the BRIDGE-II-MIX, has come to similar conclusions. The research has examined various behavior patterns that might possibly be connected to suicide attempts. The link between suicide and those underlying mental disorders has been studied by "psychological autopsy" studies. These are in-depth investigations that rely on interviews with close friends, family, people who were in close contact with the person who died by suicide.
The investigations seek to identify factors that likely contributed to the death. According to these studies, the overwhelming majority of people who die by suicide (over 90%) had at the time of their deaths a mental disorder. Among the most important conclusions from this research is the important role of teaching people how to recognize the symptoms of mental disorders in those who are close to them in order to offer them support to get professional help.
An important implication for primary care professionals is that these studies have found that most people who committed suicide have seen a primary care provider within the month before their death. These findings suggest that would be possible to reduce the suicide rate if primary care providers and their medical staffs were better able to recognize and treat patients who show signs of the mental disorders usually associated with suicide. Depression is more common than any other disorder among people who committed suicide. This shows the importance to educate primary care providers about the diagnosis and treatment of depression.
