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Research Connection Roundup

Research Roundup: October 2024

The Research Roundup is a regular update of recently published findings in suicide prevention research. AFSP-funded studies included in this roundup examined how…

  • Retirement related issues during the Great Recession may have played a part in suicide rates
  • A new model for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents’ brains may inform future research
  • A suicide assessment faired in identifying individuals with suicidal behavior, and
  • Two methods compared in assessing past suicidal behavior in individuals with schizophrenia

Briana Mezuk, PhD

Researcher: Briana Mezuk, PhD
Institution: University of Michigan
Grant Type: 2020 Distinguished Investigator Award – $124,880
Grant Title: Suicide Risk during Employment and Housing Transitions in Mid- and Late-Life

Major life transitions, such as loss of employment or retirement, may contribute to suicidal behavior in middle-aged and older adults. One way to find out more about this is utilizing machine learning and AI-based statistical techniques to analyze data from databases such as the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). These findings can provide deeper insights into how people's work-related stress is connected to suicide risk. To explore this further, Dr. Briana Mezuk looked at how the economic downturn during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 affected suicide rates among older adults, particularly those nearing retirement.

Dr. Mezuk used data from the NVDRS on people aged 50 or older from 2004-2017 who died by suicide and applied advanced computer analysis to find suicide cases that were connected to retirement (e.g., anticipating, being unable to, or recently retiring). She then compared the suicide trends of this group to people who died by suicide that were already retired, as well as all people aged 50 and older who died by suicide during the same time period. Dr. Mezuk found 878 cases (1.6% of the 53,298 deaths by suicide in this age group) where retirement seemed to play a role, 52% of which were among recent retirees. Individuals whose deaths were retirement-related were younger (62 vs. 75 years old) and more educated. She also found that the rate of retirement-related suicides was associated with the Great Recession and that economic issues were more central to the narratives of these cases when compared to other periods.

Citation: Ananthasubramaniam, A., Jurgens, D., Kahsay, E., & Mezuk, B. (2024). Characteristics of and Variation in Suicide Mortality Related to Retirement During the Great Recession: Perspectives From the National Violent Death Reporting System. The Gerontologist, 64(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnae015

Olga Tymofiyeva, PhD

Researcher: Olga Tymofiyeva, PhD
Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Grant Type: 2019 Standard Research Grant – $100,000
Grant Title: Suicidality in Depressed Adolescents: A Study of Neural Changes with a Mind-Body Intervention

Understanding changes in the brains of adolescents at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) is a central pursuit for many suicide prevention researchers. Few biological indicators (i.e., biomarkers) for STBs in adolescents have been identified so far and there is a need for more brain imaging studies to achieve the clinical goals of early detection of suicide risk, risk classification, and intervention development.

With this in mind, Dr. Olga Tymofiyeva conducted a systematic review of 28 studies that evaluated brain regions and networks associated with STBs in adolescents. After synthesizing the findings, Dr. Tymofiyeva proposed a new brain model for researching adolescent STBs, the Emotional paiN and social Disconnect (END) model, which highlights two key brain circuits: The emotional pain circuit, which includes parts of the brain (e.g., the cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus) that were different in adolescents with suicidal ideation and behavior. The social disconnect circuit was found to be specific to adolescents who have attempted suicide and involved areas of the brain that are related to social interaction and how teens perceive themselves in social situations. Dr. Tymofiyeva suggests that if future research supports this model, it could help clinicians identify at-risk adolescents early and create treatments that target emotional pain and social isolation.

Citation: Tymofiyeva, O., Reeves, K. W., Shaw, C., Lopez, E., Aziz, S., Max, J. E., & Yang, T. T. (2023). A Systematic Review of MRI Studies and the “Emotional paiN and social Disconnect (END)” Brain Model of Suicidal Behavior in Youth. Behavioural Neurology, 2023(1), 7254574. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/7254574

Researcher: Jefferey Bridge, PhD, John Keilp, PhD, and Katalin Szanto, MD,
Institution: Ohio State University, Columbia University, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Grant Type: 2014 Linked Standard Research Grant – $187,168
Grant Title: Neurocognitive Markers of Vulnerability to Suicidal Behavior Across the Life-Cycle

Developing tools that can effectively assess suicide risk is a major goal in the suicide prevention field. One test that was developed to differentiate individuals with prior or prospective suicide attempts is the Death/Suicide Implicit Association Test (d/s-IAT). This test is based on prior research showing that individuals at risk for suicide tend to respond more quickly to stimuli associating death or suicide with themselves when compared to stimuli associating life with themselves, with faster response times leading to higher scores, indicating an individual is at higher risk. While the d/s-IAT has been mostly studied in younger populations, little is known about its effectiveness in older adults.

As part of the AFSP Lifespan Study, Drs. Jeffrey Bridge, John Keilp, and Katalin Szanto examined the d/s-IAT in 248 individuals aged 16-80. The sample was divided into three groups – depressed patients who have attempted suicide, depressed patients with no history of suicide attempt, and non-psychiatric participants. The team found that individuals with depression had higher scores than non-psychiatric participants, but there was no difference between those with and without prior suicide attempts. Age affected the test results, with older participants showing slower response times.


Citation: Ruch, D. A., Bridge, J. A., Tissue, J., Madden, S. P., Galfavy, H., Gorlyn, M., Sheftall, A. H., Szanto, K., & Keilp, J. G. (2024). Alterations in performance and discriminating power of the death/suicide implicit association test across the lifespan. Psychiatry Research, 335, 115840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115840

Vincenzo De Luca, MD, PhD

Researcher: Vincenzo De Luca, MD, PhD
Institution: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canada)  
Grant Type: 2021 Standard Research Grant – $99,712
Grant Title: Mediating Effect of Genome-Wide Methylation in Conferring Risk for Suicide in Schizophrenia: A 1-year Follow-Up Study Monitoring Stress Exposure

Assessing individuals for past suicide attempts is vital in clinical and research settings, as it is a significant aspect of assessing an individual’s current suicide risk. Two widely used methods for checking past suicide attempts are the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). Although both scales assess for suicidal ideation and behavior, there are some methodological differences between the two and more research is needed to inform the selection of assessment tools depending on their accuracy for specific settings and mental health disorders.

To explore the effectiveness of each test, Dr. Vincenzo De Luca used the C-SSRS and BSS to assess past suicidal behavior in 600 individuals with schizophrenia from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. He also reviewed medical record data to verify the number of past attempts. Dr. De Luca found that both tools were effective at detecting a history of past suicide attempts, with only slight differences in their performance. Both tools worked well across different ages and genders, with accuracy improving slightly as age increased, but these changes were not significant. Overall, these findings show that both tools are reliable for reporting past suicide attempts in individuals with schizophrenia and can be chosen based on specific needs in research or clinical settings.

Citation: Al-Chalabi, N., Nader, G., Gerretsen, P., Fischer, C., Graff, A., Borlido, C., Remington, G., & De Luca, V. (2024). Assessing past suicidal behaviour in schizophrenia spectrum disorders using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation: Analysis across the life-span. Schizophrenia research, 267, 415-421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2024.04.004


Learn more about the AFSP research grants featured in this monthly roundup, as well as others, here.