title: Heart rate variability and suicidal behavior.
abstract: Identification of biological indicators of suicide risk is important given advantages of biomarker-based models. Decreased high frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV) may be a biomarker of suicide risk. The aim of this research was to determine whether HF HRV differs between suicide attempters and non-attempters. Using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), we compared HF HRV between females with and without a history of suicide attempt, all with a lifetime diagnosis of a mood disorder. To investigate a potential mechanism explaining association between HF HRV and suicide, we examined the association between self-reported anger and HF HRV. Results of an Area under the Curve (AUC) analysis showed attempters had a lower cumulative HF HRV during the TSST than non-attempters. In addition, while there was no difference in self-reported anger at baseline, the increase in anger was greater in attempters, and negatively associated with HF HRV. Results suggest that suicide attempters have a reduced capacity to regulate their response to stress, and that reduced capacity to regulate anger may be a mechanism through which decreased HF HRV can lead to an increase in suicide risk. Our results have implications for the prevention of suicidal behavior in at-risk populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: stw16@caa.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychology, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chesin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fertuck
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keilp
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brodsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J John
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Cemile Ceren
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sönmez
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benjamin-Phillips
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000786:Anger; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Biomarker; Depression; Emotion regulation; Heart rate variability; Suicidal behavior; Suicide