[YSPNetwork] Fw: Can suicide be really predicted? Study says yes

[KIRK WOLFE]

As an FYI.   Kirk



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: David Fassler <dfassler at vtpsych.com>
To: David Fassler <dfassler at vtpsych.com>
Sent: Wed, November 9, 2011 2:40:49 AM
Subject: re: Can suicide be really predicted? Study says yes


November 8, 2011 3:05 PM 
 
Can suicide be really predicted? Study says yes
By David W Freeman .
 
 
(CBS) Wouldn't it be great if there were a simple questionnaire that could 
predict who is and who isn't going to attempt suicide? Turns out there is, and 
new research shows it to be extremely accurate.
PICTURES - Who's at risk for suicide? 5 life-saving questions to ask
 
 
Researchers evaluated the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) - 
already in use by institutions ranging from the World Health Organization to 
local fire departments - in three separate studies. One involved adults given 
emergency care for psychiatric problems. Two others involved adolescents who had 
been diagnosed with major depression or who had attempted suicide. 

 
 
The study's lead author said the studies showed that the C-SSRS was "extremely 
accurate" at predicting suicide attempts. 

 
 
"This is a very feasible, easy approach that will help us identify people we 
need to get to," Dr. Kelly Posner, director of Columbia University's Center for 
Suicide Risk Assessment in New York City, told CBS News. "It identifies people 
we would have missed otherwise, and avoids the 'false positives'" in which 
people who aren't truly suicidal wind up getting costly and burdensome 
evaluations.
 
 
The scale, which is available in 103 languages, can be administered in minutes 
by anyone trained in its use - not just health-care professionals, according to 
a written statement about the study issued by the university. The study was 
published online Nov. 8 and will appear in the Dec. issue of the American 
Journal of Psychiatry.
 
 
Dr. Posner said there hadn't been any comprehensive way to assess risk of 
suicide before the scale came into use. Given its simplicity and proven 
accuracy, she called on doctors to use the scale on a routine basis with their 
patients.
 
 
"Fifty percent of suicides see their primary-care doctor the month before they 
die," she said. "We should be asking these questions the way we monitor for 
blood pressure."
 
 
Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of the department of psychiatry at Columbia and 
director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, seemed to concur on the 
benefits of widespread screening using the scale. "The public health benefits in 
terms of lives saved could be enormous," he said in the statement.
 
Suicide is certainly a big problem. According to the National Institute of 
Mental Health, it was the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2007, 
accounting for 34,598 deaths. For every suicide, there are an estimated 11 
suicide attempts
 
 
Read more: 
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57320703-10391704/can-suicide-be-really-predicted-study-says-yes/#ixzz1dCgDa8Iq
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