Thyrotrophin response to thyreostimulin in affectively ill women relationship to suicidal behaviour

Past history of suicidal behaviour was investigated in 51 depressed women (27 unipolar and 24 bipolar) in whom the TSH response to TRH was studied. Patients with a history of violent suicidal attempts were shown to have a reduced TSH response to TRH, compared to depressed patients with a history of non-violent suicidal attempts and depressed patients with no history of suicidal behaviour. A five-year follow-up study on these patients revealed that four patients who died from suicide had an absence of TSH response to TRH.