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Pharmacopsychiatry 1996; 29(3): 103-107
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-979553
Original Paper

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Effect of Prophylactic Treatment on Suicide Risk in Patients with Major Affective Disorders

Data from a Randomized Prospective TrialK. Thies-Flechtner1 , B. Müller-Oerlinghausen1 , W. Seibert2 , A. Walther3 , W. Greil3
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  • 2Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Lübeck, Germany
  • 3Psychiatric Hospital, Munich University, Germany
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Publikationsdatum:
23. April 2007 (online)

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Abstract

Recent findings have indicated that lithium treatment markedly reduces suicide risk in major affective disorders. To compare the effect of lithium with carbamazepine and amitriptyline, suicidal behavior was analyzed during the randomized prospective long-term MAP study (N = 378; duration 2.5 years). Of the nine suicides and five attempted suicides, none took place during lithium treatment. The findings support the view that lithium has a specific antisuicidal effect over and above its prophylactic benefit.