A dementia diagnosis before 65 may increase suicide risk

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-10-04 02:00

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UK scientists say receiving a diagnosis of dementia before you hit 65 is linked to an increased risk of suicide, and the risk of suicide is highest in the first three months after diagnosis for all patients. People with other mental health issues who received a dementia diagnosis were also at increased risk of suicide, whatever their age, the scientists say. The team looked at health records for 594,674 UK patients from 2001 to 2019 to draw their conclusions, and say the findings suggest people in these high-risk groups should be assessed for suicide risk when they receive a dementia diagnosis.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: The results of this nationally representative study including 594,000 persons in England suggest that there was an increased risk of suicide associated with dementia in patients diagnosed before the age of 65, those with a recent dementia diagnosis (within 3 months), and those with existing diagnoses of psychiatric comorbidities. In particular, there was an association between increased suicide risk in patients who were diagnosed younger than 65 years in the 3-month post-diagnostic period. Diagnostic and management services for dementia, in both primary and secondary care settings, should target suicide risk assessment to the identified high-risk groups.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Neurology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Nottingham, UK

Funder: No information provided.

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