Suicide risk factors in depressive disorders and in panic disorder

Suicide has been associated traditionally with major depression, alcoholism, and schizophrenia and in the past several years with alcoholism and comorbid depression. More recently, however, panic disorder has been linked with suicide attempts, and the importance of severe anxiety symptoms (panic attacks, psychic anxiety, and agitation) as possible predictors of suicide risk in patients with major affective disorder has been studied. The author discusses data sets from three such studies: (1) the Clinical Studies of the National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Program on the Psychobiology of Depression, (2) a study on 17-hydroxycorticosteroid concentrations in inpatients with major affective disorder, and (3) a study on inpatient suicides. The author concludes by suggesting that anxiety, which is readily treatable, may in fact be one of the most clinically important symptoms in depressive disorders.