Screening for Suicide Risk in Adults: a Summary of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

The authors systematically reviewed the English-language research literature to determine whether screening for suicide risk in primary care settings decreases morbidity, mortality, or both. No study directly addressed this question. The researchers found that because of the complexity of studying the risk for suicide & the paucity of well-designed research studies, only limited evidence guides the primary care clinician’s assessment & management of suicide risk. (75 refs)