The Cardiff sib-pair study: suicidal ideation in depressed and healthy subjects and their siblings

Abstract

Depression is associated with high rates of suicidal ideation, which varies in intensity from transient thoughts of wishing to be dead to the making of plans and, Finally, to attempts to kill oneself. There is limited evidence from family, twin, and adoption studies that completed suicide is familial and has a genetic etiological component. However, it is unclear whether suicidal ideation is also familial. The familiality of suicidal ideation has been examined in the subjects who participated in the Cardiff Depression Study, namely, 108 depressed probands. their nearest-aged siblings, and 105 healthy control subjects and their siblings. The study showed that 66% of depressed subjects had experienced suicidal ideation in the week prior to the interview, and that this was significantly associated with recurrent illness. Suicidal ideation was not shown to be familial. However, somewhat surprisingly, 6% of healthy, never-depressed subjects admitted to having had transient suicidal thoughts. Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with high neuroticism and psychoticism scores and severe threatening life events.