US scientists have
managed to find certain biomarkers in blood that can help predict a potential
suicide victim, says the study, adding that it can give an early warning of
some individuals who may commit an “impulsive suicide act.” The method includes
blood tests and questionnaires, implemented as apps on tablets that together
are able to predict with about 92-percent accuracy which patients will think of
suicide or even try to commit it, says a press release about the research carried
out at Indiana University.
The
questionnaires alone are able to predict “the onset of significant suicidal
thoughts” with more than 80-percent accuracy, the research paper adds.
RT.com report continues:
"We
now have developed a better panel of biomarkers that are predictive across
several psychiatric diagnoses. Combined with the apps, we have a broader
spectrum predictor for suicidality," said Dr Niculescu, director
of the Laboratory of Neurophenomics at the Institute of Psychiatric Research at
the IU School of Medicine, one of the co-authors of the study.
Neither
of the apps, developed separately, asks the participant directly if they are
planning to commit suicide.
“One
of the apps assesses measures of mood and anxiety; the other asks questions
related to life issues including physical and mental health, addictions,
cultural factors and environmental stress,” the press release says.
Niculescu
and his colleagues have been following a large group of male patients for three
years. They have been diagnosed with mental illnesses, including bipolar
disorder.
"Suicide
is a big problem in psychiatry. It's a big problem in the civilian realm, it's
a big problem in the military realm and there are no objective
markers," added the scientist.
In
the blood samples of these patients the scientists were able to find
certain “biomarkers at significantly higher levels in the blood of both
bipolar disorder patients with thoughts of suicide as well in a group of people
who had committed suicide.”
The
scientists detected the SAT1 marker and a series of other markers in the blood
of the patients, which indicated a propensity to suicide. They found the same
markers in the blood of suicide victims.
"This
suggests that these markers reflect more than just a current state of high
risk, but could be trait markers that correlate with long term
risk," said Niculescu.
According
to the researcher, there are people who will not “reveal they are having
suicidal thoughts when you ask them, who then commit it and there's nothing you
can do about it.”
“We need better ways to identify, intervene
and prevent these tragic cases…Over a million people each year worldwide die
from suicide and this is a preventable tragedy,” he said, adding that the
paper is a “first ‘proof of principle’ for a test that could provide an
early warning of somebody being at higher risk for an impulsive suicide act.”
He
added the research is not complete, as it must be carried out on females as
well. It must also take into consideration other groups, such as people who
have less impulsive, more deliberate and planned subtypes of suicide.
"Suicide is complex:
in addition to psychiatric and addiction issues that make people more
vulnerable, there are existential issues related to lack of satisfaction with
one’s life, lack of hope for the future, not feeling needed, and cultural
factors that make suicide seem like an option."
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