Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Aug;86(8):792-800.
doi: 10.4065/mcp.2011.0076. Epub 2011 Jun 27.

Practical suicide-risk management for the busy primary care physician

Anna K McDowell  1 , Timothy W Lineberry, J Michael Bostwick
Affiliations
Review

Practical suicide-risk management for the busy primary care physician

Anna K McDowell et al. Mayo Clin Proc. 2011 Aug.

Abstract

Suicide is a public health problem and a leading cause of death. The number of people thinking seriously about suicide, making plans, and attempting suicide is surprisingly high. In total, primary care clinicians write more prescriptions for antidepressants than mental health clinicians and see patients more often in the month before their death by suicide. Treatment of depression by primary care physicians is improving, but opportunities remain in addressing suicide-related treatment variables. Collaborative care models for treating depression have the potential both to improve depression outcomes and decrease suicide risk. Alcohol use disorders and anxiety symptoms are important comorbid conditions to identify and treat. Management of suicide risk includes understanding the difference between risk factors and warning signs, developing a suicide risk assessment, and practically managing suicidal crises.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Hierarchy of suicide assessment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. FastStats: suicide and self-inflicted injury. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm Accessed March 22, 2011
    1. FastStats: deaths and mortality. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/deaths.htm Accessed March 22, 2011
    1. Chang SS, Gunnell D, Sterne JA, Lu TH, Cheng AT. Was the economic crisis 1997-1998 responsible for rising suicide rates in East/Southeast Asia? A time-trend analysis for Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68:1322-1331 - PubMed
    1. Gunnell D, Platt S, Hawton K. The economic crisis and suicide [editorial]. BMJ. 2009;338:b1891 - PubMed
    1. Stuckler D, Basu S, Suhrcke M, Coutts A, McKee M. The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis. Lancet. 2009;374:315-323 - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances