Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Reward Deficiency Syndrome (Rds): A Cytoarchitectural Common Neurobiological Trait Of All Addictions, Kenneth Blum, Abdalla Bowirrat, Eric R Braverman, David Baron, Jean Lud Cadet, Shan Kazmi, Igor Elman, Panyotis K Thanos, Rajendra D Badgaiyan, William B Downs, Debasis Bagchi, Luis Llanos-Gomez, Mark S Gold

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Alcohol and other substance use disorders share comorbidity with other RDS disorders, i.e., a reduction in dopamine signaling within the reward pathway. RDS is a term that connects addictive, obsessive, compulsive, and impulsive behavioral disorders. An estimated 2 million individuals in the United States have opioid use disorder related to prescription opioids. It is estimated that the overall cost of the illegal and legally prescribed opioid crisis exceeds one trillion dollars. Opioid Replacement Therapy is the most common treatment for addictions and other RDS disorders. Even after repeated relapses, patients are repeatedly prescribed the same opioid replacement treatments. A recent …

Epidemiological Statistics Of Adolescent Suicide During Confinement Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Ecuador, Andres J. Guarnizo Chávez, Nathaly A. Romero Heredia

Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana

Objective: To present the characteristics of adolescent suicide, during the period of connement due to pandemic in 2020 in Ecuador, in order to satisfy the mental health needs of this age group with their knowledge. Method:Observational, descriptive, cut-off study It was carried out. Cross-sectional retrospective, with information from the database of violent deaths of the Ministry of Government, from March 17 to September 13, which lasted the state of emergency. The analysis was carried out by province, sex, age, suicide method and frequency in days after the occurrence of the event. The suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 inhabitants) was estimated …

Psychological Autopsy Study And Risk Factors For Suicide In Muslim Countries, S M Yasir Arafat, Murad M. Khan, Vikas Menon, Syeda Ayat-E-Zainab Ali, Mohsen Rezaeian, Sheikh Shoib

Department of Psychiatry

Background: Suicide and risk factors have been poorly studied in the Muslim-majority countries that hinder the formulation of prevention strategies and affect suicide prevention eventually.
Objectives: We aimed at identifying and analyzing the psychological autopsy studies assessing the risk factors for suicide conducted in Muslim-majority countries.
Methods: We did a search to trace all the available psychological autopsy studies in the Muslim countries with the search term "psychological autopsy study in Muslim countries." We also checked the available bibliographies to identify the psychological autopsy studies in the Muslim countries so that all the possible studies could be included.
Results: Out …

Medical Schools Ignore The Nature Of Consciousness At Great Cost, Anoop Kumar

Journal of Wellness

The essential question of the relationship between consciousness and matter is ignored in medical school curricula, leading to a machine-like view of the human being that contributes to physician burnout and intellectual dissatisfaction. The evidence suggesting that the brain may not be the seat of consciousness is generally ignored to preserve the worldview of the primacy of matter. By investigating new frameworks detailing the nature of consciousness at different levels of hierarchy, we can bring intellectual rigor to a once opaque subject that supports a fundamental reality about our experience: We are human beings, not only human bodies.

Incarceration And Suicide: Do The Risk Factors Differ For Civilians And Veterans?, Rheannon Gail Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in United States jails and prisons. Many researchers have looked at suicides in prisons and what can potentially cause suicidal ideation but there are conflicting findings among civilian incarcerated populations and United States military veteran incarcerated populations.

The intent of this study is to examine which risk factors are most prevalent among adults in custody, with a focus on mental health and substance use or abuse and how these risk factors differ between incarcerated civilians and incarcerated veterans. Using survey data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails conducted …

Improving Suicide Risk Assessment Through Educational Program Implementation, Timothy Booth

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Unsustainable behavioral health education focused on comprehensive suicide risk assessment performance contributes to decreased registered nurses’ perceived self-efficacy in assessing and caring for suicidal patients.

Purpose: To educate medical-surgical and progressive care registered nurses in assessing patients for suicide risk factors and warning signs comprehensively.

Design Method: A quasi-experimental designed quality improvement project with evidence-based suicide educational program implementation. Project results yielded a 56.7% increase in registered nurses’ perceived self-efficacy in assessing and caring for suicidal patients. Future DNP work will focus on sampling a larger population (N) to decrease opportunities for the skewness of project results …

Increasing Referrals To School Counselors By Integrating An Evidence-Based Program For Educators Identifying Adolescents At Risk For Suicide In A Rural High School, Wendy Holloway

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Addressing suicide in America's youth is imperative. Teachers play an essential role in identifying and intervening with adolescents experiencing psychological distress leading to suicide. Teachers and staff lack professional development addressing the identification of students in psychological distress.

Purpose: This project aimed to increase referrals to school counselors by integrating an evidence-based program for educators identifying adolescents at risk for suicide in a rural high school.

Design Method: This was a quantitative quality improvement project with a pre-/post-test design. Additionally, referrals to the school guidance counselors before implementing the program and after the completion of the program were …

Increased Risk Of Death Triggered By Domestic Violence, Hunger, Suicide, Exhausted Health System During Covid-19 Pandemic: Why, How And Solutions, Kenneth Bitrus David, Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Damilola Quazeem Olaoye, Ndikpongkeabasi Victor Enang, Aboaba Kazeem Oriyomi, Ismaeel Yunusa

Faculty Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, just like many other public health emergencies, is a well-established global health burden that has resulted in several changes in routines and lifestyles of people globally. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has directly or indirectly involved in the loss of lives of more than 3.24 million as of 6th May, 2021. The increasing threats posed by this pandemic were subsided by the swift and drastic measures put in place by different countries. As other causes of death before the emergence of COVID-19 still exist, the pandemic has further worsened …

Toxoplasma Gondii, Suicidal Behavior, And Intermediate Phenotypes For Suicidal Behavior, Teodor T. Postolache, Abhishek Wadhawan, Dan Rujescu, Andrew J. Hoisington, Aline Dagdag, Enrique Baca-Garcia, Christopher A. Lowry, Olaoluwa O. Okusaga, Lisa A. Brenner

Faculty Publications

Within the general literature on infections and suicidal behavior, studies on Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii ) occupy a central position. This is related to the parasite's neurotropism, high prevalence of chronic infection, as well as specific and non-specific behavioral alterations in rodents that lead to increased risk taking, which are recapitulated in humans by T. gondii's associations with suicidal behavior, as well as trait impulsivity and aggression, mental illness and traffic accidents. This paper is a detailed review of the associations between T. gondii serology and suicidal behavior, a field of study that started 15 years ago with our …

Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia And Suicide: A Systematic Review Of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, And Premorbid Iq Variables, Susan Diann Paschall

Dissertations

Schizophrenia is an exceptionally debilitating mental disorder. Its effects permeate all facets of psychosocial functioning and it is associated with premature mortality. As such, suicide is of clinical concern. Positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions may influence the risk of suicide among individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, but additional research is necessary, as the limited literature on this topic is dated and includes heterogeneous results. Early recognition of and intervention for suicide risk factors, such as the presence of positive symptoms of psychosis, may reduce mortality rates for individuals with schizophrenia. The present literature review examined the role of gender, …

Characterization Of Time-Variant And Time-Invariant Assessment Of Suicidality On Reddit Using C-Ssrs, Manas Gaur, Vamsi Aribandi, Amanuel Alambo, Ugur Kursuncu, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Jonathan Beich, Jyotishman Pathak, Amit Sheth

Publications

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S (1999-2019). However, predicting when someone will attempt suicide has been nearly impossible. In the modern world, many individuals suffering from mental illness seek emotional support and advice on well-known and easily-accessible social media platforms such as Reddit. While prior artificial intelligence research has demonstrated the ability to extract valuable information from social media on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, these efforts have not considered both severity and temporality of risk. The insights made possible by access to such data have enormous clinical potential - most dramatically envisioned as a trigger …

Often Overlooked Risk Factors Of Suicide In The Transgender Population: A Case Report And Review, Tarik Zeid, Jeremy Castro

Research Day

Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. Of note, the transgender population has been starting to get more attention from the psychiatric community due to the unique circumstances that transgender people have. Personal challenges can include dynamics of family rejection, bigotry, internalized transphobia, being denied proper bathroom assignments and housing access, among many others. This case illustrates the importance of recognizing that the transgender population has particular suicide risk factors that often go overlooked. Though there are many personal challenges and risk factors that may contribute to …

The Effectiveness Of The More Than Sad School Based Gatekeeper Training Program, Guy Diamond, Lawrence Ogunkua, Matthew B. Wintersteen, Tita Atte, Perri Rosen, Robert Gallop

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Schools have the unique opportunity to identify and refer youth at risk for suicide. School-based gatekeeper training programs aim to improve staff’s ability to talk to students about mental health concerns and refer them for an assessment. Unfortunately, progress in evaluating the available programs has been limited. In fact, the popular and widely used More Than Sad program has received no rigorous evaluation to date. This study sets out to evaluate the effectiveness of the More Than Sad program in a quasi-experimental, wait-list control design with a large number of school personnel, across geographically diverse communities. Fourteen school districts with …

Decreasing Suicidal Risks Among Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Or Major Depression, Manpreet K. Sheabat

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Suicide is a major cause of death in the United States. Some populations, such as the veterans and active duty military personnel are at a higher risk of committing suicide compared to the general population. The risk is exacerbated by mental health conditions such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Few reviews have explored the effects of the recommended psychotherapeutic interventions on suicidal ideations and suicide rates for these two disorders, focusing on the veteran population. To address this, a literature search was performed using a comprehensive search through electronic databases, applying the search criteria and keywords aimed …

Suicide Risk And School Related Stressors In Veterinary Students, Deanna Nicole Arnold

Honors College Theses

Compared to the general population of the United States, veterinarians are at an increasingly higher risk for suicide. This is commonly associated with stressful work environments, long work hours, poor work-life balance, client demands and complaints, and large amounts of euthanasia procedures. While many studies have been performed to confirm the above statements, few to no studies have been done on students currently enrolled in veterinary school to assess their mental health. This study will survey graduate school students in this field and will evaluate their mental health state and risk factors towards suicide. Through comparing the results of this …

Recommendations For Perioperative Care Of Adolescents At Risk For Suicide, Rachelle Huber Dustin Rn, Bsn, Blaine A. Winters Dnp, Acnp-Bc

Student Works

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for the adolescent population, and as such, should be addressed when adolescents have any contact with the healthcare system, including perioperative appointments. Although some surgical facilities screen patients with a history of suicide attempt or severe mental health conditions, many adolescents who have died by suicide do not have official mental health diagnoses or history of previous suicide attempt. Because of the impact surgery can have on mental health, each adolescent should be screened for suicide risk during pre-surgical consult appointments to assess suicide risk and take proper precautions, as needed. …

Reducing Patient Risk For Suicidal Behaviors With A Safety Bundle Of Best Practices With Non-Psychiatric Patients, Olayemi Akindele

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Suicide is a public health condition that affects people globally. The increased suicidal behaviors of patients in a medical-surgical unit demanded an effective screening protocol to identify high-risk patients.

PICOT: In patients 18 years and older on a medical-surgical unit, does the implementation of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) tool and application of a Safety Bundle of Best Practices (SBBP) increase early identification of suicide risk with decreased patient self-harm behaviors, compared to the current standard practice of no assessment tool or safety bundle of best practices within 12 weeks?

Evidence: Ten studies served as evidence …

Sexual Violence And Suicide In Bangladesh, S M Yasir Arafat, Murad M. Khan

Department of Psychiatry

No abstract provided.

Suicide Prevention And Mood Disorders: Self-Exclusion Agreements For Firearms As A Suicide Prevention Strategy, Melvin G. Mcinnis, Stephen B. Thompson, Sofia D. Merajver, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

Suicide involves a complex set of behaviors and emotions that lead up to actions that may be based on planning and forethought or the result of impulse. While there are a host of antecedent circumstances the presence of a mood disorder, primarily depression, is the most common factor in suicide. While management of depression is recognized as important prevention strategy in depression, the means by which suicide occurs must be a critical element of prevention. Policies that lower access to the means for suicide will decrease the fatality. Guns are associated with half of suicides and the case fatality rate …

An Analysis Of Suicide Risk Factors Among Farmers In The Midwestern United States, Andrea Bjornestad, Courtney Cuthbertson, Jessie Hendricks

Counseling and Human Development Faculty Publications

Research on the complex relationships of variables contributing to farmer suicide is limited. The purpose of the study was to examine factors associated with suicide risk through the use of standardized instruments measuring psychological (depression, anxiety), social (social support), and contextual factors. A questionnaire was completed by 600 farmers in the Midwestern United States. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze associations with suicide risk (SBQ-R), including depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), Brief COPE subscales (BC), social support (MSPSS), and select demographic and farming characteristics. The only variable that emerged as having a significant relationship with the natural log-transformed …

Unmet Needs Are Associated With Increased Stress And Poor Physical And Mental Health In Early Adulthood, Colleen Heflin, Katie Green, Ying Huang, Asiya Validova

Population Health Research Brief Series

Material hardship, such as not being able to pay bills, negatively affects both physical and mental health. This research brief examines how different types of material hardship (difficulty paying for food, bills, and health care) are associated with self-rated health, depression, sleep problems, and suicidal thoughts among U.S. young adults (ages 24-32).

Adolescent Healthcare Contacts In The Year Before Suicide: A Case Control Study, Ana Lanier, Jordan Braciszewski, Hsueh-Han Yeh, Gregory Simon, Rebecca Rossom, Frances Lynch, Stephen Waring, Christine Lu, Ashli Owen-Smith, Arbe Beck, Brian Ahmedani

Medical Student Research Symposium

Introduction: Suicide rates among adolescents have risen steadily since 2007, creating a dire need to expand prevention protocols. Healthcare systems have been identified as a key avenue for identification and intervention. To date, no comprehensive analysis has been done to understand adolescent-specific characteristics and healthcare utilization prior to suicide death.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted using records from eight healthcare systems nationwide. Data from 450 subjects aged 10-24 who died by suicide between the years 2000-2013 was matched with 4500 controls based on health system and time period of membership. We examined past-year health diagnoses and patterns of visit …

An Emergency Department Medical Record Review For Adolescent Intentional Self-Harm Injuries, Anna Hansen, Dessi Slavova, Gena Cooper, Jaryd Zummer, Julia Costich

Emergency Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts are increasing problems among American adolescents. This study developed a definition for identifying intentional self-harm (ISH) injuries in emergency department (ED) records coded with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes. The definition is based on the injury-reporting framework proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study sought to estimate the definition's positive predictive value (PPV), and the proportion of ISH injuries with intent to die (i.e., suicide attempt).

METHODS: The study definition, based on first-valid external cause-of-injury ICD-10-CM codes X71-X83, T14.91, T36-T65, or T71, captured 207 discharge …

Suicide And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Vermont High School Students: An Analysis Of Associated Health-Behavior Variables, Douglas Michael Lebo, Catherine Markesich, Ida Sargent, Mika Smith, Mariana Wingood, Heidi Hales

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among Vermont high schoolers and examine their relationship with health-behavior and demographic variables.

Methods: We used responses to the 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey from Vermont high schoolers (n = 18 613) to perform bivariate logistic regression analyses of variables thought to predict SI and NSSI.

Results: In 2019, 14.8% of Vermont high schoolers reported SI in the past year, and 18.9% reported NSSI. Lower grade level, LGBT identity, self-perception as over- or underweight, being bullied, alcohol use, smoking, and …

Associations Between Demographic Factors And Suicide Deaths In Vermont: 2015-2019, Isabelle Tomanelli, Lucy Lincoln, Stephanie Stead, Mary Ryan-Eldred, Nick Martin, Sarah Vose

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objectives. To quantify the complex relationships shared between numerous risk factors associated with suicide among Vermont decedents.

Methods. Vermont Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS) data from 2015-2019 were examined through binary logistic regression analyses to examine demographic variables’ ability to predict death by suicide.

Results. In the analysis of 26,738 deaths, significant predictors of suicide among the 535 suicide decedents included rurality (odds ratio [OR] = 1.043; 95% CI = 1.016, 1.071; P = 0.002), divorce (OR = 1.785; 95% CI = 1,396, 2.281; P < 0.001), and higher educational attainment including associate degree (OR = 1.472; 95% CI = 1.033, 2.098; P = 0.032), bachelor’s degree (OR = 1.686; 95% CI = 1.266, 2.247; P < 0.001), master’s degree (OR = 1.812; 95% CI = 1.162, 2.826; P …