Suicide risk configuration system in a clustered clinical sample: a generalized linear model obtained through the LASSO technique

Leite V, Porto DM, Robis KP, Fidalgo TM, Rocha GA, Diaz AP, Meleiro A, Correa H, Tung TC, Malloy-Diniz L, Quevedo J, da Silva AG. Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines for the management of suicidal behavior. Part 2. Screening, intervention, and prevention

This article continues our presentation of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines for the management of patients with suicidal behavior, with a focus on screening, intervention, postvention, prevention, and promotion. For the development of these guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of the MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science, and SciELO databases for research published from 1997 to 2020. Systematic reviews, clinical trials, and cohort/observational studies on screening, intervention, and prevention in suicidal behavior were included. This project involved 14 Brazilian psychiatry professionals and 1 psychologist selected by the Psychiatric Emergencies Committee of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association for their experience and knowledge in psychiatry and psychiatric emergencies. Publications were evaluated according to the 2011 Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) Levels of Evidence Classification. Eighty-five articles were reviewed (of 5,362 initially collected and 755 abstracts on the drug approach). Forms of screening, intervention, and prevention are presented. The intervention section presents evidence for psychotherapeutic and drug interventions. For the latter, it is important to remember that each medication is effective only for specific groups and should not replace treatment protocols. We maintain our recommendation for the use of universal screening plus intervention. Although the various studies differ in terms of the populations evaluated and several proposals are presented, there is already significant evidence for certain interventions. Suicidal behavior can be analyzed by evidence-based medicine protocols. Currently, the best strategy is to combine several techniques through the Safety Plan. Nevertheless, further research on the topic is needed to elucidate some approaches with particular potential for intervention and prevention. Systematic review registry number: CRD42020206517.

Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines for the management of suicidal behavior. Part 1. Risk factors, protective factors, and assessment

Suicide is a global public health problem that causes the loss of more than 800,000 lives each year, principally among young people. In Brazil, the average mortality rate attributable to suicide is approximately 5.23 per 100,000 population. Although many guidelines have been published for the management of suicidal behavior, to date, there are no recent guidelines based on the principles of evidence-based medicine that apply to the reality of suicide in Brazil. The objective of this work is to provide key guidelines for managing patients with suicidal behavior in Brazil. This project involved 11 Brazilian psychiatry professionals selected by the Psychiatric Emergencies Committee (Comissão de Emergências Psiquiátricas) of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association for their experience and knowledge in psychiatry and psychiatric emergencies. For the development of these guidelines, 79 articles were reviewed (from 5,362 initially collected and 755 abstracts). In this review, we present definitions, risk and protective factors, assessments, and an introduction to the Safety Plan.

Systematic review registry number: CRD42020206517

Recognizing states of psychological vulnerability to suicidal behavior: a Bayesian network of artificial intelligence applied to a clinical sample

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine conditional dependence relationships of variables that contribute to psychological vulnerability associated with suicide risk. A Bayesian network (BN) was developed and applied to establish conditional dependence relationships among variables for each individual subject studied. These conditional dependencies represented the different states that patients could experience in relation to suicidal behavior (SB). The clinical sample included 650 mental health patients with mood and anxiety symptomatology.

RESULTS

Mainly indicated that variables within the Bayesian network are part of each patient's state of psychological vulnerability and have the potential to impact such states and that these variables coexist and are relatively stable over time. These results have enabled us to offer a tool to detect states of psychological vulnerability associated with suicide risk.

CONCLUSION

If we accept that suicidal behaviors (vulnerability, ideation, and suicidal attempts) exist in constant change and are unstable, we can investigate what individuals experience at specific moments to become better able to intervene in a timely manner to prevent such behaviors. Future testing of the tool developed in this study is needed, not only in specialized mental health environments but also in other environments with high rates of mental illness, such as primary healthcare facilities and educational institutions.