Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Death From Suicide

Purpose of Review

This review summarizes the increasing public health concern about PTSD and suicide, and the population-based studies that have examined this association. Further, we discuss methodological issues that provide important context for the examination of this association.

Recent Findings

The majority of epidemiologic studies have shown that PTSD is associated with an increased risk of suicide; however, a notable minority of studies have documented a decreased risk of suicide among persons with PTSD. Methodological (e.g., sample size and misclassification) and etiologic issues (e.g., complicated psychiatric comorbidity) may explain the conflicting evidence.

Summary

PTSD may be associated with an increased risk of suicide, but further research is needed. Increasing the use of appropriate methods (e.g., marginal structural models that can evaluate both confounding and effect modification, machine learning methods, quantification of systematic error) will strengthen the evidence base and advance our understanding.