title: Prolactin and thyroid hormone levels are associated with suicide attempts in psychiatric patients.
abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate biological factors associated with recent suicidal attempts in a naturalistic sample. A total of 439 patients suffering from major depression disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and psychosis not otherwise specified), who were consecutively assessed in the Emergency Department of an Italian Hospital (January 2008-December 2009), were included. In the whole sample, suicide attempters and non-attempters differed with regard to free triiodothyronine (FT3) and prolactin values only. A univariate general linear model indicated significant effects of sex (F(1;379)=9.29; P=0.002), suicidal status (F(1;379)=4.49; P=0.04) and the interaction between sex and suicidal status (F(1;379)=5.17; P=0.02) on prolactin levels. A multinomial logistic regression model indicated that suicidal attempters were 2.27 times (odds ratio (OR)=0.44; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.23/0.82; P=0.01) less likely to have higher FT3 values than non-attempters; while prolactin values failed to reach statistical significance (OR=0.99; 95%CI: 0.98/1.00; P=0.051). Both prolactin and thyroid hormones may be involved in a complex compensatory mechanism to correct reduced central serotonin activity. Further studies may help in understanding how these findings can be used by clinicians in assessing suicide risk.
authors: Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs - Suicide Prevention Center, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. maurizio.pompili@uniroma1.it
authors: Maurizio
authors: M
authors: Pompili
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Gibiino
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Innamorati
authors: Gianluca
authors: G
authors: Serafini
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Del Casale
authors: Luisa
authors: L
authors: De Risio
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Palermo
authors: Franco
authors: F
authors: Montebovi
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Campi
authors: Vincenzo
authors: V
authors: De Luca
authors: Leo
authors: L
authors: Sher
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Tatarelli
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Biondi
authors: Fabrice
authors: F
authors: Duval
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Serretti
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Girardi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014284:Triiodothyronine; D011388:Prolactin