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The following is the summary of “Trajectories of suicidal risk among individuals with first-episode psychosis: Relationship to recovery and symptoms,” published in the August 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Wastler et al.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The suicide rates are approximately 12-20 times greater for such patients than for the general population. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study studying different patterns of suicide risk in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and how these patterns are linked to other clinical factors. 

They gathered data from the RAISE-ETP study involving 404 people with FEP. They completed assessments for suicide risk, depression, positive symptoms, recovery, and quality of life at five different points: baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. The research used latent class analysis to find patterns in suicide risk over time. General linear models for repeated measures were applied to explore the connection between these suicide risk patterns and clinical variables. 

The results showed that 3 distinct patterns of suicide risk emerged: low-risk, worsening, and improving. Those in the low-risk and improving groups showed better outcomes in depression, positive symptoms, quality of life, and recovery as time went on. Meanwhile, the worsening group improved in positive symptoms and quality of life but showed no change in depression or recovery. 

Investigators concluded that some people with FEP may still face depression and higher suicide risk during treatment despite improvements in positive symptoms and quality of life, indicating that these issues might be overlooked in typical FEP clinics.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124002634