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As Suicide Rates Rise, Scientists Find New Warning Signs

6/10/2016

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Scientists are making headway in the search for solutions to one of the most vexing problems in mental health: How to predict who is at risk for suicide.

Researchers are hunting for so-called biomarkers, such as patterns of brain activity on fMRI scans or levels of stress hormones in the blood, linked to suicidal thoughts and acts. They are creating computer algorithms, fed with tens of thousands of pieces of data, to come up with measures of risk. They are looking at sleep patterns and even responses to specialized computer tasks that can reveal unconscious biases toward self-harm.

The need is great. The reality is that it is very hard for psychiatrists and psychologists to identify who is at risk for suicide. They rely heavily on simply asking patients.
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But people often conceal their plans. Indeed, researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that clinicians were no more accurate than chancein predicting which patients visiting a psychiatric emergency room were likely to attempt suicide in the next six months.
Widely accepted risk factors, like being male, having a history of mental illness and experiencing stressors like a job or relationship loss, are often not specific enough to be much help.

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By Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal


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How Do You Help Someone Who Is At Risk Of Suicide?

5/2/2016

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How do you help someone who is at risk of suicide?

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicide has been steadily increasing in the U.S. since 1999. Although men tend to kill themselves at higher rates than women, the biggest rate increase during that time has been among girls 10-14 years old, and the second biggest increase has been among women 45-64 years old.

But for every person who dies by suicide, there are many, many more who struggle with suicidal thoughts. "Lots of people think about it," says Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "Suicide attempts are less frequent. Fortunately, dying by suicide is even less frequent."
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NPR talked with Harkavy-Friedman and Dr. Jitender Sareen of the University of Manitoba, both psychiatrists, about what is known about youth suicide and best practices for preventing suicide. Harkavy-Friedman studies teen suicide prevention, and Sareen studies suicide trends among Native people in the Arctic. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Read the Full Article with Dr. Sareen as he answers questions on how to help someone you are concerned about.

By Rebecca Hersher, NPR

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U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

4/22/2016

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WASHINGTON — Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s.

The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study, while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the study on Friday.
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The increases were so widespread that they lifted the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. The rate rose by 2 percent a year starting in 2006, double the annual rise in the earlier period of the study. In all, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

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By Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times

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Getting Serious About Reducing Suicide: More "How" and Less "Why"

12/17/2015

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"Between 2005 and 2012, age-adjusted mortality rates declined for all 10 leading causes of death in the United States—except for suicide. The rate of suicide increased from 10.9 per 100 000 in 2005 to 12.6 per 100 000 in 2012.1 Suicide accounted for 41 149 deaths in 2013, the latest year for which national data are available. In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death in 15- to 34-year-olds, claiming 11 226 lives in this age group.2 What is different about suicide, and why has there been so little progress in preventing it?

Suicide is intertwined with mental illness. People who have chronic mood disorders or psychosis are 10 to 20 times more likely to commit suicide than people without those disorders. Serious mental illnesses affect about 5% of the population but account for 47% to 74% of the population attributable risk (PAR) of suicide, according to a recent review of studies.3 However, despite substantial public investments in research on the etiology of mental illnesses over the last several decades, rates of onset and recovery have not improved, and the suicide rate has been steadily increasing in the United States."
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Read the full article in JAMA


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Man Therapy Expands to Offer Veteran and Military Resource

11/20/2015

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Man Therapy, a free and interactive mental health website for men, has just added content specifically for veterans and military service members. Examples of the new content include tips for dealing with issues such as disordered sleep, stress, and difficult transitions; sports and recreation programs and camps; traumatic brain injury resources; videos; and information for families to support veterans in their lives.

By ​SPRC, The Weekly Spark
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7 Ways Technology Is Fighting Suicide Among Veterans

7/3/2013

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By jennacyprus  |  Posted May 3, 2013  |  Seattle, Washington
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-967459/
According to a recent report by Forbes, suicide among veterans is at an all-time high. While posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the stresses of war and service have traditionally led to a higher suicide rate, the statistics now linger at 22 per day. The Department of Veteran Affairs cites that nearly every hour, another serviceman or woman takes their own life. What can be done about it?

The vast majority of suicides are committed by older veterans, with 69 percent being older than 50. An additional 30 percent of the suicides are committed by veterans younger than 41, and supposedly in their prime. A silver lining has emerged with technology providing a promising avenue for preventing veteran suicides. In conjunction with traditional approaches, technology is being incorporated to help address PTSD and suicidal tendencies.

1. Dashboard Technology
The Army believes that the information and data to identify suicidal veterans--and possibly prevent suicide--is there. The problem is sharing information between various commands. Enter the Commander's Risk Reduction Board, a database of information on each soldier that can alert commanding officers about suicidal risks. Forensics show that, in hindsight, oftentimes warning signs are there, but the issue is acting on them immediately.

2. 24 Systems Become One
At the moment, the Army is utilizing 14 individual systems to collaborate it into one large, suicide prevention database. Future plans include incorporating an additional 10 systems into the larger unit. There are numerous files on soldiers and vets, some protected by HIPAA Law, but experts agree that there's a way to lawfully streamline the databases.

3. Identifying High Risk Soldiers
The typical commanding officer has 3,000 soldiers to look after. The number of veterans key officers may be in charge of can be even greater. By creating an algorithm based on risk factors, such as someone attending alcohol rehabilitation or going through a divorce, it can create an automated red flag. One person can't be expected to care for thousands of people alone, but technology can help.

4. The Army's Communications-Electronics Commands Steps Up
Initially, the Army asked for outside bids to complete the dashboard, but were promised a delivery of two to five years. That wasn't acceptable given the spike in suicide rates. In the end, it was the Army's own service men and women that delivered a pilot program in six short weeks. Already, some preventative measures are in place and the future looks promising.

5. Virtual Soldier Turns Vet
Right now, the goal of the Army is to create a virtual soldier profile for eachactive soldier. This profile follows them through station moves and tracks major life events, such as the loss of a child and other potential risk factors. Eventually, this can be expanded to a virtual veteran profile--and actually, it's a fairly rational expansion.

6. Increased Connectivity
Beyond the Army's dashboard, simply being in touch with a support network can play a key role in suicide prevention. While studies show that people who use the internet more are actually more likely to commit suicide, it doesn't consider what the internet is being used for. For example, many veterans might feel like there's no one to reach out to, but nonprofits and government agencies can utilize texts, social media sites and online mentoring.

7. Support Groups Online
While it might be uncomfortable for a veteran to attend an in-person support group, the anonymity offered online might encourage more vets to join. Prior to attempting suicide, many vets look for an outlet and can't find one. By utilizing online tools or virtual therapy sessions or support groups and marketing them properly to vets--that has the potential to decrease suicide.

While the the Army is taking a giant leap in the right direction, but more is needed. Many alternate avenues are being offer to veterans who are seeking mental health help. Additionally, as more treatments are developed and research, the Army should be looking to open up the options even further. Obviously not every treatment is going to work for every soldier so as many as possible should be offered. It's time to reverse this trend and start supporting veterans properly.

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