Bipolar Disorder Risk Factors for Suicide

Which Factors Increase A Bipolar Patient's Risk of Suicide

Jun 17, 2009

Approximately 15% of patients with bipolar disorder attempt suicide. Here are six factors which increase a bipolar patient's risk of suicide.

Bipolar disorder is associated with a high risk of suicide, particularly in patients who are affected by one of the following risk factors. While the suicide rate for the general bipolar population is between 15 and 20%, these six risk factors can increase that rate dramatically.

Frequency of Hospitalization Increases Suicide Risk in Bipolar Patients

Among patients with bipolar disorder, frequent hospitalization is the biggest risk factor associated with suicide.

Bipolar patients who have a history of frequent hospitalizations are approximately 2.5 times as likely to attempt suicide as patients who have never been hospitalized or patients who were hospitalized only once or twice.

Stressful Life Events Preceding the Onset of Bipolar Increase Suicide Risk

Patients who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder following a stressful or traumatic life event such as sexual abuse have a higher chance of attempting suicide.

Similarly, a study published in the March 2009 issue of Comprehensive Psychiatry found that 60% of bipolar patients who attempt suicide had a significant life change in the three months preceding the suicide attempt.

Depressive or Mixed First Episode Indicates a Higher Risk of Suicide

Bipolar patients whose first mood episode was either depressive or mixed are at a greater risk of attempting suicide.

A 2007 study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that patients whose first episode was depressive had an eight times greater risk of attempting suicide than patients whose first episode was manic.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Indicate Greater Suicide Risk in Bipolar Patients

Bipolar patients whose mood disorder is compounded by alcoholism and drug addiction have a 38% risk of attempting suicide, compared with a 15-20% risk for the general bipolar population.

Drug and alcohol abuse worsen the symptoms of bipolar disorder and make mood episodes more difficult to treat, which dramatically increases a patient's chances of attempting suicide.

A Family History of Suicide Increases the Risk for Patients With Bipolar Disorder

A family history of suicide places a bipolar patient at three times the normal risk of attempting suicide himself. Bipolar patients with first-degree family members who committed suicide also tend to experience more depression and anxiety than bipolar patients without a family history of suicide.

Age and Timing Affect Risk of Suicide in Bipolar Patients

A Taiwanese study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that patients with bipolar disorder are most likely to attempt suicide within 7-12 years of the onset of the illness, and most suicide attempts occur before age 35. A different study found that a young age of onset was associated with a greater risk of suicide attempts.

The copyright of the article Bipolar Disorder Risk Factors for Suicide in Suicide is owned by Hilary Smith. Permission to republish Bipolar Disorder Risk Factors for Suicide in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.