Science suicide risk dramatically increased by concussions

Concussion increases the risk of suicide by three times according to the study
Globally, a suicide takes place every 40 seconds on average. A common reason for suicide is according to experts a not optimally treated mental illness. Canadian researchers have now found in a study that the suicide risk is dramatically increased by concussions. The danger is especially great when the head injury occurs at the weekend.
Facts about suicide
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 800,000 people worldwide die each year. In Germany about 10,000 people annually commit suicide. According to the German Depressionshilfe Foundation, almost 90 percent of these are due to an often poorly treated mental illness, most often depression. In older men, the suicide rates in this country are by far the highest. These are just a few facts about suicide. More information is now reported from Canada: Accordingly, concussions increase the suicide risk many times over.

Increased suicide risk due to concussion. Picture: Bilderzwerg - Fotolia

Concussions increase suicide risk
According to a Canadian study, concussions increase the risk of suicide three-fold. According to the news agency AFP, the risk of suicide is even greater if the concussion happens on a weekend. In men, the suicide rate is reported to be twice as high as in women. The study, recently published in the journal Canadian Medical Association Journal, confirms earlier research that concussions can trigger permanent physiological changes that are hidden from a medical scanner. It should go according to AFP to disorders of contributing to the well-being messenger serotonin hormone balance.

Effects of concussion are underestimated
"Because symptoms such as dizziness or headaches quickly disappear after a concussion, doctors tend to underestimate their disastrous effects," said lead author of the study, Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto. In his opinion, a greater focus on the consequences of concussions could save lives because of the effectiveness of suicide prevention. Since many concussions remain unrecognized, German experts have been in the past, for example, to investigate clashes in sports. Some sports federations have summarized signs of concussion on leaflets. Two years ago, scientists also reported on a new blood test to detect injuries in the brain.

One of the most common causes of death
According to the AFP report, there are 400,000 cases of craniocerebral trauma each year in Canada, and four million in the US. Suicide is reported to be the leading cause of death in both countries. Accordingly, there were 3,951 cases in Canada in 2010 and 38,364 cases in the USA. The study authors reviewed the medical history of 235,110 patients who were concussed for 20 years in the province of Ontario, Canada. The mean age of the patients was 41 years. (Ad)