[Alffe]

http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1235804

TORONTO - Suicide, and how to prevent it don't make for easy conversation, but James Bolton is hoping to get people talking.
The University of Manitoba psychiatry professor has presented new research he's brought together on suicide prevention at the Canadian Psychiatric Association's annual conference, and he's hoping the audience was listening closely.
For example, research found that nicotine dependence is a major suicide risk factor. Another study found that training people in First Nations communities to identify people at risk might lower suicide rates.
Bolton, who is a clinician-scientist, is hoping the fresh findings, coupled with discussion of a blueprint for a national suicide prevention strategy, will help bring the issue to the forefront, especially for the federal government.
"Suicide is a major public health problem here in Canada," said Bolton. "I see the devastating effect this has on patients, on their families, friends. It boggles my mind that this strategy has not been implemented."
The blueprint, put together by the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, was first released to all levels of government in 2007 and a second edition published in 2009.
The yet to be published findings from various researchers were put into context with discussion of the existing prevention strategy blueprint at a symposium led by Bolton in Toronto on Sunday.
But even after years of lobbying the federal government, Bolton, who is a director at CASP, said the organization has yet to receive a positive response on their strategy.
According to data from CASP, more than 3,500 Canadians die by suicide. It is the third leading cause of death in adults aged 25 to 49 years, and the second leading cause of death among adolescents.
And while it is hard to know if suicide rates are going up, Bolton says they certainly aren't declining, something that is cause for concern.
"Canada is a leader in public health and to be one of the few industrialized nations that doesn't have a suicide prevention strategy, I think that's a problem."
Among the research presented was work by Bolton himself that seems to indicate nicotine dependence is the third most important risk factor for suicide attempts in the general population, behind major depression and borderline disorder.
"This is a really surprising finding because nobody really thought that smoking cigarettes would put you at risk for suicide," he said.
The study used the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a large survey of 34,653 community-dwelling American adults. It examined the relation between suicide attempts and various measures of nicotine dependence.
"Lifetime nicotine dependence was independently associated with a history of suicide attempt, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and other mental disorders," said an abstract of the study presented at the conference.
"That's something new for me," psychiatrist Sara Infante-Lo Faso said after the talk. "I didn't know about that."
Infante-Lo Faso, who received her training in Mexico, said other psychiatrists in the audience seemed to agree with the finding based on their own experience.
Positive results of a new intervention program for suicide prevention in aboriginal communities were also presented by University of Manitoba psychiatry professor Jitender Sareen.
As suicide among some First Nations communities is five to 10 times higher than the rest of the population, Sareen examined whether a training program to help community members identify those at risk for suicide could be used successfully. The results suggest the training was found to be useful.
All the new research presented identified risk factors which could eventually make their way into another editions of the proposed prevention strategy. The risk factors are also the first steps in developing interventions and therapies that can help those struggling against suicide.
Now Bolton is hoping some of those who attended the conference will pick up on a few nuggets of what was presented and help translate lab research to potential implementation in clinical assessments.
"Taking research that is being done in the lab and getting it out to the public, that was really the goal that I had here," said Bolton. "Put it out there, generate discussion and get people thinking about it."

[smae]

That's very interesting. I wonder why those who are dependent on nicotine are higher at risk. I would have guessed that it would have been alcohol or other drugs, since they seem to impair the mind so much. Aside from the addictive qualities, it doesn't seem that nicotine affects a person's mind... at least, that's not how it looks from the outside. I've never smoked, so I guess I can't say for sure. It just seems odd to me.

[Alffe]

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09...nts/18977.html