Suicidal Status During Antidepressant Treatment in 789 Sardinian Patients With Major Affective Disorder

Changes in suicidality ratings were evaluated at the start & after sustained antidepressant treatment in a systematically assessed clinical sample of 605 Sardinian patients with major depressive disorder, 103 patients with bipolar II, & 81 patients with bipolar I. Suicidal versus non-suicidal & recovered versus nonrecovered initially suicidal patients were compared. Suicidal patients (103/789) were more depressed & were ill longer. During treatment, 81.5% of suicidal patients became non-suicidal, 0.46% of 656 initially non-suicidal patients reported new suicide ideation, with no new attempts. Becoming non-suicidal was associated with greater depression severity & greater improvement. (70 refs)