Genetic Data Could Help Stratify Suicide Attempt Risk

Genetic risk factors may be associated with suicide attempt (SA) risk and subsequent methods could exist to mediate this risk in childhood, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.¹

“This study’s findings indicate that there may be genetic factors associated with SA risk across the life span and suggest behaviors and conditions through which the risk could be mediated in childhood,” said lead author Phil H. Lee, PhD, and co-authors in the study.

Using data from the population-based Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and an independent genome-wide association study, researchers looked at information for 4344 children and 550,000 adults in a case-control study. They found statistically significant associations between children’s SAs and their polygenic risk scores for SA that strengthened with age.

Related: Computerized Adaptive Test for Suicide Risk Shows Predictive Accuracy 1 Year Out

As youth suicide rates have been increasing in the United States, finding new methods to predict and prevent suicidal ideation (SI) and SA could be crucial. In a paper published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found a fivefold increase in suicidal overdoses in children aged 10 to 12 years over the last decade.²

Using the youth report of the ABCD Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for DSM-5, researchers generated cumulative lifetime measures for SI and SAs. In each year, participants were classified as SAs if they reported actual, interrupted, or aborted attempts. Participants were classified as SI when they reported ideation but no attempts. Controls were the ones with neither SI/SAs. Researchers calculated polygenic risk scores (PRSs) to quantify genetic susceptibility to SAs, and data was analyzed from November 2020 to February 2022. Children’s lifetime experiences of SI and SAs were assessed each year from ages 9 to 10 years to ages 11 to 12 years.

Researchers found significant associations between the participants’ SA PRSs and their lifetime SAs. “Children’s depressive mood and aggressive behavior were the most significant partial mediators of SA genetic risk on SAs,” researchers noted. “Children’s behavioral problems, such as attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, and social problems, also partially mediated the association of SA PRSs with SAs.”

“Given the potential for PRS to contribute information prior to the emergence of SAs and to serve as objective indicators where no biomarkers currently exist, our data suggest that it may be reasonable to study genetic information along with other risk factors for improving suicide risk stratification and prevention efforts in children,” researchers concluded. “Further research is warranted to examine whether incorporating genetic data could improve the identification of children at risk for suicide.”