Trouble sleeping could be a suicide risk factor for older adults

[riky]

Trouble sleeping could be a suicide risk factor for older adults

Doctors who treat patients with depression or a history of suicide attempts should consider sleep problems a further warning sign, experts say. “The majority of individuals who die by suicide visit their doctor in the months preceding, and these are missed opportunities to enhance detection and intervene,” said lead author Rebecca A. Bernert of the Stanford Mood Disorders Center at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. Sleep can stand alone as a risk factor for death by suicide, even when depression is accounted for, Bernert told Reuters Health, though sleep problems are common for many people who should not be alarmed by this news. The study team compared the answers those 20 people gave in a series of interviews to questions about symptoms of depression, and mental and physical functioning to the answers of 400 others similar in age, sex and location.

Source: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login