Associations of potential plasma biomarkers with suicide attempt history, current suicidal ideation and subsequent suicidal events in patients with depression: A discovery study

Baseline circulating biomarkers, their changes, and subsequent suicidal ideation and depression severity at 6 months: A prospective analysis in patients with mood disorders

BACKGROUND

Identifying circulating biomarkers associated with prospective suicidal ideation (SI) and depression could help better understand the dynamics of these phenomena and identify people in need of intense care. In this study, we investigated the associations between baseline peripheral biomarkers implicated in neuroplasticity, vascular homeostasis and inflammation, and prospective SI and depression severity during 6 months of follow-up in patients with mood disorders.

METHODS

149 patients underwent a psychiatric evaluation and gave blood to measure 32 plasma soluble proteins. At follow-up, SI incidence over six months was measured with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology. Ninety-six patients provided repeated blood samples. Statistical analyses included Spearman partial correlation and Elastic Net regression, followed by the covariate-adjusted regression models.

RESULTS

51.4 % (N = 71) of patients reported SI during follow-up. After adjustment for covariates, higher baseline levels of interferon-γ were associated with SI occurrence during follow-up. Higher baseline interferon-γ and lower orexin-A were associated with increased depression severity, and atypical and anxious, but not melancholic, symptoms. There was also a tendency for associations of elevated baseline levels of interferon-γ, interleukin-1β, and lower plasma serotonin levels with SI at the six-month follow-up time point. Meanwhile, reduction in transforming growth factor- β1 (TGF-β1) plasma concentration correlated with atypical symptoms reduction.

CONCLUSION

We identified interferon-γ and orexin-A as potential predictive biomarkers of SI and depression, whereas TGF-β1 was identified as a possible target of atypical symptoms.

Higher levels of plasma Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) are associated with lower suicidal ideation in depressed patients compared to controls and suicide attempters, independently from depression severity

Introduction

Suicidal ideation, an important risk factor for suicide attempts, has an unclear neurobiological basis and is potentially linked to the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immune-inflammatory systems. While inflammatory markers have been associated with suicide attempts and, to a lower extent suicidal ideation, the data on the role of a stress-response system is less robust, with most studies carried out with cortisol showing inconsistent results. The present study extends on the previous studies implicating stress-response and immune-inflammatory systems in suicidal thoughts and behaviours, focusing on the associations of several stress-response (adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) and immune-inflammatory (C-reactive protein (CRP),interle ukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)) with suicidal ideation severity in recent suicide attempters, patients with major depressive disorder, and non-psychiatric controls.

Methods

This observational study included 156 adults from three Vilnius hospitals, recruited into one of the three groups in equal parts: recent suicide attempters, patients with major depressive disorder in current depressive episode, and non-psychiatric controls. Measures included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation/Suicide Severity Index (BSS/SSI), alongside sociodemographic data, alcohol, tobacco use, and morning blood samples, measuring plasma ACTH, cortisol, DHEA, CRP, and IL-6. Data were analysed with non-parametric tests, Kendall's tau correlation, and multivariate linear regression adjusted for confounders.

Results

We found a negative correlation between the plasma ACTH levels and suicidal ideation severity (tau = -0.130, p = 0.033), which was driven by the patients with major depressive disorder (tau = -0.237, p = 0.031). Suicidal ideation severity was also negatively correlated with TNF-alpha (tau = -0.231; p < 0.001), positively correlated with IL-6 (tau = 0.154, p = 0.015), and CRP levels (tau = 0.153, p = 0.015), but no differences were observed in group-stratified analyses. The association between plasma ACTH levels and suicidal ideation severity in patients with major depressive disorder remained robust to adjustment for major confounders (adjusted for age, sex, education years, body mass index, smoking status, plasma CRP and PEth concentration (measuring chronic alcohol exposure), and antidepressant use) in the linear regression model (t = -2.71, p = 0.011), as well as additionally adjusting for depression severity (t = -2.99, p = 0.006).

Discussion

The present study shows an association between plasma ACTH levels and suicidal ideation severity in patients with major depressive disorder, robust to adjustment for antidepressant use and depression severity. This finding highlights the potential role of ACTH, in elucidating the effects of stress and mental health disorders. Our findings underscore the importance of the HPA axis in the diagnosis and treatment of suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder and invite further research on interventions targeting this pathway.

Association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia: the mediating role of insomnia

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment is a well-established transdiagnostic risk factor for suicidal ideation; however, previous studies on their association in schizophrenia have produced highly varied results. Moreover, the mechanism linking childhood maltreatment and suicide ideation remains unclear in schizophrenia.

AIMS

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and suicide ideation in people with schizophrenia and tested whether insomnia mediated this relationship.

METHOD

Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form and Beck Suicidal Ideation Inventory were employed. Logistic regression and mediation analysis were performed.

RESULTS

(a) The prevalence of suicide ideation, insomnia, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse and physical neglect was 10% (n = 61), 18% (n = 111), 11% (n = 68), 25% (n = 153), 6.3% (n = 39), 17% (n = 106) and 39% (n = 239), respectively. In all, 52% (n = 320) reported childhood maltreatment; (b) patients with suicide ideation demonstrated higher insomnia and childhood maltreatment. PANSS depression factor, ISI, lifetime suicidal attempts and emotional abuse were independently associated with suicide ideation; (c) insomnia partially mediated the effects of emotional abuse and emotional neglect on suicide ideation, and insomnia completely mediated the effects of physical neglect and physical abuse on suicide ideation.

CONCLUSION

Our study calls for formal assessments for childhood maltreatment and insomnia in schizophrenia, which might help identify suicide ideation early. In addition, interventions targeting insomnia might help reduce suicide ideation among people with schizophrenia who experience childhood maltreatment.

Assessment and management of individuals consulting for a suicidal crisis: A European Delphi method-based consensus guidelines

INTRODUCTION

Managing patient with suicidal thoughts and behaviours presents significant challenges due to the scarcity of robust evidence and clear guidance. This study sought to develop a comprehensive set of practical guidelines for the assessment and management of suicidal crises.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Utilizing the Delphi methodology, 80 suicide clinician and research experts agreed on a series of recommendations. The process involved two iterative rounds of surveys to assess agreement with drafted recommendations, inviting panellists to comment and vote, culminating in 43 consensus recommendations approved with at least 67% agreement. These consensus recommendations fall into three main categories: clinical assessment, immediate care, and long-term approaches.

RESULTS

The panel formulated 43 recommendations spanning suicidal crisis recognition to continuous long-term care. These guidelines underscore systematic proactive suicide risk screening, in-depth medical and toxicological assessment, and suicide risk appraisal considering personal, clinical factors and collateral information from family. The immediate care directives emphasize a secure environment, continuous risk surveillance, collaborative decision-making, including potential hospitalization, sensible pharmacological management, safety planning, and lethal means restriction counselling. Every discharge should be accompanied by prompt follow-up care incorporating proactive case management and multi-modal approach involving crisis lines, brief contact, and psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study generated comprehensive guidelines addressing care for individuals in suicidal crises, covering pre- to post-discharge care. These practical recommendations can guide clinicians in managing patients with suicidal thoughts and behaviours, improve patient safety, and ultimately contribute to the prevention of future suicidal crises.