Study identifies brain networks that play crucial role in suicide risk
An international team of researchers has identified key networks within the brain which they say interact to increase the risk that an individual will think about – or attempt – suicide. Writing today in Molecular Psychiatry, the researchers say that their review of existing literature highlights how little research has been done into one of the world’s major killers, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. The facts in relation to suicide are stark: 800,000 people die globally by suicide every year, the equivalent of one every 40 seconds. Suicide is the second leading cause of death globally among 15-29 year olds. More adolescents die by suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined. As many as one in three adolescents think about ending their lives and one in three of these will attempt suicide. “Imagine having a disease that we knew killed almost a...