From Psychiatric News Alert (8/12/13): According to a recent study, psychotic symptoms alone (as distinguished from diagnosed psychotic disorders) are a striking marker of suicide danger in adolescents, especially in those adolescents who demonstrate other types of psychiatric pathology.

“This is a very interesting study,” said child and adolescent psychiatrist Kayla Pope, M.D., of Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska. “We need better markers for assessing suicide risk, and the finding in this study is an important step in that direction.”

The finding, from a team of European researchers in JAMA Psychiatry, came as a surprise to the lead researcher, Ian Kelleher, M.D., Ph.D.

“While we knew that people with psychotic disorders are at high risk of suicidal behavior, we did not know that there was such a strong relationship between psychotic experiences (which are much more common than psychotic disorders) and suicidal behavior in the population.”

More information about suicide risks can be found in Psychiatric News here, here, andhere. Information about suicide is also available in The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Suicide Assessment and Management, Second Edition.