---
title: "Psych News Alert: Adults Diagnosed With Concussion May Be at Heightened Long-Term Risk of Suicide"
description: Adults who have been diagnosed with a concussion may be at a heightened long-term risk of suicide, reports a study  published today in th...
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Psych News Alert: Adults Diagnosed With Concussion May Be at Heightened Long-Term Risk of Suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/02/adults-diagnosed-with-concussion-may-be.html)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 2/8/16 5:00 AM

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Adults who have been diagnosed with a concussion may be at a heightened long-term risk of suicide, reports a [study](http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.150790) published today in the *Canadian Medical Association Journal*. According to the authors, the findings suggest that a history of concussion may be relevant when assessing a patient's suicide risk.

Donald Redelmeier, M.D., of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and colleagues examined 235,110 records of patients in Ontario who had a concussion between 1992 and 2012. During the follow-up period, 667 suicides occurred, equivalent to 31 deaths per 100,000 patients annually—three times the population norm.

Weekend concussions (considered more likely to be caused by recreational injuries) were associated with a one-third further increased risk of suicide compared with weekday concussions (considered more likely to be caused by occupational injuries). For people with a prior suicide attempt, a psychiatric or substance use disorder, or multiple concussions, this risk was even higher; however, even individuals who met none of these criteria still had double the long-term suicide risk following a concussion.

“[C]oncussions are rarely deemed relevant for consideration by psychiatrists or other physicians when eliciting a patient’s history,” the authors wrote. “Greater attention to the long-term implications of a concussion in community settings might save lives because deaths from suicide can be prevented.”

For related information, see the *Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences* article “[Suicide and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy](http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.15070172?journalCode=jnp).”

(Image: Triff/Shutterstock)

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/02/adults-diagnosed-with-concussion-may-be.html)

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