Incidence and Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts in Patients Diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to investigate the cumulative incidence and risk factors of suicide attempts in an outpatient sample of adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a longitudinal study with 377 patients aged between 18 and 60 years. Those were diagnosed with MDD with no history of suicide attempts when they sought care at the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic of the Catholic University of Pelotas and evaluated again 3 years after. Participants were evaluated with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI Plus) and answered instruments of clinical investigation and a sociodemographic questionnaire. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of suicide attempts in the sample was 10.1%. Youths aged up to 29 years (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.13 to 4.64), with low schooling (OR 2.35; 95% CI 1.15 to 4.80), who suffered intense physical abuse during childhood (OR 2.77; 95% CI 1.31 to 5.84) and were at prior suicide risk (OR 3.39; 95% CI 1.56 to 7.37) were more likely to attempt suicide. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study may help health professionals identify depressed patients at greater risk for a first suicide attempt, supporting clinical decision and therapeutic planning.

History of childhood trauma as risk factors to suicide risk in major depression.

The aim of this study was to compare childhood trauma scores domains between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients with and without suicide risk. This is cross-sectional study including a clinical sample of adults (18-60 years) diagnosed with MDD through the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus version (MINI Plus). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was also used to verify types of trauma scores: abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual) and neglect (emotional and physical). Adjusted analysis was performed by linear regression. The sample was composed to 473 patients, suicide risk was observed in 16.3% of them. Suicide risk was independently associated with emotional abuse and neglect and sexual abuse, but not with physical abuse and neglect. Different domains of childhood trauma are associated with suicide risk in MDD population and emotional trauma should be considered a risk factor for suicide risk in MDD patients.

Serum levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) in patients with major depression disorder and suicide risk.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is an important member of the neurotrophins group and their involvement in the pathophysiology of major depression disorder (MDD) and suicide risk (SR) has been recently suggested. The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in NGF serum levels in individuals with MDD and with or without risk of suicide, in subjects from a young population-based sample. This is a paired cross-sectional study nested in a population-based study. Individuals were rated for MDD and SR by a diagnostic interview--Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I). The total population of the sample was comprised of 141 subjects distributed in three groups: 47 healthy controls, 47 subjects with current depressive episode without SR (MDD) and 47 subjects with current depressive episode and with SR (MDD + SR). NGF serum levels were significantly reduced in the MDD and MDD + SR groups when compared with controls (p ≤ 0.001). However, there were no differences in NGF levels between the MDD and MDD + SR groups (p = 1.000). These results suggest that reduced NGF serum levels can be a possible biomarker of MDD.

Major depressive disorder symptoms in male and female young adults.

This research aimed to compare the prevalence rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) and to differentiate the presence and severity of depressive symptoms between women and men aged 18-24 years. In this population-based, cross-sectional study (n = 1560), young adults were screened with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for MDD (n = 137). Participants then completed a self-report questionnaire to gather sociodemographic data, and the presence of each symptom of depression was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory. The proportion of women (12.2%) with MDD was higher than that of men (5.3%). The symptoms of depression found to be significantly more prevalent in women were sadness, crying, difficulty making decisions, and lack of energy, as well as self-criticism, irritability, changes in self-image, work difficulty, and loss of interest in sex. Sadness and self-criticism were significantly more severe in women than in men. The presentation of depressive symptoms in young adults with MDD differed between men and women.