New onset and remission of suicidal ideation among a depressed adult sample

Lynch, Thomas R., Johnson, Courtney S., Mendelson, Tamar, Robins, Clive J., Krishnan, K.Ranga R. and Blazer, Dan G. (1999) New onset and remission of suicidal ideation among a depressed adult sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 56 (1), 49-54. (doi:10.1016/S0165-0327(99)00023-3). (PMID:10626779)

Abstract

Background: previous research has demonstrated that suicidal ideation often predicts suicide completion.

Methods: the present study examined clinical and phenomenological variables associated with the presence, development and remission of suicidal ideation among depressed adults. The sample (n=81) was derived from subjects enrolled in the Duke Clinical Research Center for the Study of Depression in Late Life.

Results: greater pessimistic thinking at baseline predicted the development of suicidal ideation one year later and the older a person was when he or she first experienced depression, the more likely he or she was to report remission from suicidal ideation one year following onset.

Limitations: longitudinal analyses were based on relatively small samples. Variables that were not significant in these analyses might be in a larger sample.

Conclusions: the longitudinal design of this study mitigates limitations associated with cross-sectional or retrospective designs and advances our understanding of a clinical profile associated with the development and remission of suicidal thoughts

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Contributors

Author: Thomas R. Lynch

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