title: [Suicidal tendencies, a disorder that crosses boundaries between disciplines].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Suicidality is considered to be a facultative symptom of certain psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide evidence in support of the view that suicidality is not only a symptom of other disorders or comorbid with them but is often a disorder in its own right.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a review of the literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Suicidality manifests itself as a disorder in its own right without any one-to-one relationships with other psychiatric or somatic disorders or illnesses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suicidality has specific features of its own such as susceptibility to interindividual contagion. By preventing suicide we may be able to forestall the development of other types of ill-health and thus improve the quality of the life that has been saved.
authors.affiliation: Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neeleman
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: De Groot
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015897:Comorbidity; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention