Reliable method detects suicidal propensity

http://goo.gl/zRwmkc

“The results are so strong that I’m astonished”, says Lars-Håkan Thorell, associate professor in experimental psychiatry at Linköping University, one of the researchers behind the study. “We can determine very accurately whether a person risks committing suicide, which can revolutionise suicide prevention.".....

The result confirms previous research stating that there is a strong correlation between hyporeactivity and suicide in depressed people.

The test found that hyporeactivity was present in up to 97 per cent of depressed patients who later committed suicide, compared to just 2 per cent of the depressed patients who were not hyporeactive.

But the study also shows there is no relation between the severity of depression and hyporeactivity. Associate Professor Thorell: “It indicates a certain per cent, even if the normal population can have this neurophysical disorder. Everyone who has it is not suicidal – but almost all suicidal, depressed patients have it.”