The Cardiff Sib-Pair Study: Suicidal Ideation in Depressed and Healthy Subjects and Their Siblings

The familiality of suicidal ideation was examined in the subjects who participated in the Cardiff Depression Study, namely, 108 depressed probands, their nearest-aged siblings, & 105 healthy control subjects & their siblings. The study showed that 66% of depressed subjects had experienced suicidal ideation in the week prior to the interview & that this was significantly associated with recurrent illness. Suicidal ideation was not shown to be familial. However, somewhat surprisingly, 6% of healthy, never-depressed subjects admitted to having had transient suicidal thoughts. Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with high neuroticism & psychoticism scores & severe threatening life events. (14 refs.)