DENMARK: Traumatic Brain Injury Tied to Increased Risk of Suicide

September 07, 2018

News Type:  Weekly Spark, Weekly Spark News

Reuters

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be associated with increased suicide risk, according to a recent study. Researchers looked at data from more than 7.4 million people living in Denmark between 1980 and 2014. They found that people with a history of TBI, which included injuries such as concussion and skull fracture, were nearly twice as likely to die by suicide as those without a history of TBI. The absolute risk of suicide was still relatively low in spite of this increased relative risk, said lead study author Trine Madsen of the Danish Research Institute of Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Center Copenhagen. “That said, if a person develops post-TBI emotional problems or psychiatric symptoms he or she should of course seek help or treatment for this in order to prevent (moving) towards suicidal ideation or behavior,” Madsen advised. Since the study was not a controlled experiment, it could not determine the exact relationship between TBI and suicide.

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