CSF 5-HIAA PREDICTS SUICIDE RISK AFTER ATTEMPTED-SUICIDE

Suicide risk after attempted suicide, as predicted by cerebrospinal fl uid (CSF) monoamine metabolite concentrations, was studied in a sample of 92 psychiatric mood disorder inpatients admitted shortly after att empting suicide. The potential of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyin doleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the CSF to predict suicide risk within the first year after attempted suicide was studied by means of survival a nalysis after median split subgrouping. Eleven patients (12%) committe d suicide within 1 year after attempted suicide. Eight of these belong ed to the below-the-median (< 87 nM) CSF 5-HIAA subgroup, that is, the suicide risk was 17% as compared with 7% among those with above-the-m edian CSF 5-HIAA. The cumulative number of survived patient-months dur ing the first year after attempted suicide was significantly lower in the low CSF 5-HIAA subgroup. It was concluded that low CSF 5-HIAA pred icts short-range suicide risk after attempted suicide in mood disorder psychiatric inpatients. These findings lend further support to the se rotonin hypothesis of suicide risk.