Mental Health Conditions in Most Suicide Victims Left Undiagnosed

According to a national study led by the Henry Ford Health System and Mental Health Research Network, the mental health conditions of most people who commit suicide remained undiagnosed in the year before they died. Among those in the study, 83 percent received health care treatment in the year prior to death, however a mental health diagnosis was made in only 45 percent of those cases. To help prevent suicides, the lead authors of the study say health care providers should become more attuned to their patients’ mental health states. The study also found that of those seeking medical attention in the four weeks before they died, 25 percent were diagnosed with a mental health condition, with one in every five making a health care visit in the week before they died. The results from the study suggest that because most visits occurred in primary care or medical-specialty settings, suicide prevention in those environments would likely reach the largest number of individuals. To read more about this study, click here.