[Pharmacological suicide prevention under special consideration of lithium salts].
OBJECTIVE
This minireview summarizes the existing evidence from large, international observational studies and RCTs on the suicide preventive effects of lithium as compared to other mood stabilizers and antidepressants.


METHODS
Unsystematic literature review.


RESULTS
There is increasing and robust evidence from a relatively large number of studies and metaanalyses that lithium long-term treatment reduces the suicide risk and overall mortality in patients with all kinds of depressive disorders (unipolar, bipolar, schizoaffective). Comparable evidence does not exist with regard to other mood stabilizers including atypical neuroleptics, or antidepressants.


CONCLUSIONS
The existing evidence on the suicide preventive effect of lithium should be integrated in therapeutic guidelines and routine psychiatric care.
Müller-Oerlinghausen
Bruno
B
Brain Center Berlin. bmoe@zedat.fu-berlin.de
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000092864:Suicide Prevention