Guidelines Updated for Pediatricians in Relation to Suicidality
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 11, 2023 -- Guidelines have been updated in relation to addressing suicide and suicide risk among adolescents, according to a clinical report published online Dec. 11 in Pediatrics.
Noting that suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States, Liwei L. Hua, M.D., Ph.D., from South Bend Clinic in Indiana, and colleagues updated a previous report to provide pediatric health care providers with guidance in relation to suicidality.
According to the report, pediatricians and pediatric care providers should be mindful of individual, relationship, and community/societal factors when addressing suicide risk. As part of well-child visits, providers should screen for suicide risk starting at age 12 years and during higher-risk situations; screening only for depression is not sufficient for identifying suicide risk. Adolescents should be screened for suicide risk during emergency department visits and medical hospitalizations. Since substance use is often associated with depression and self-treatment is a risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, adolescents should be screened for substance use. A brief suicide safety assessment and subsequent safety planning and/or referrals should be conducted as appropriate if a suicide screen is positive. Access to lethal means should be assessed during all adolescent health supervision visits, especially for adolescents with suicidal thoughts. When possible, the family should be included in suicide prevention and treatment efforts, because these interventions have been shown to be effective.
"Pediatricians and pediatric providers can open the door to discuss suicidality through screening and have an important role in the care of adolescents who present with these thoughts or associated changes in behavior/functioning," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted December 2023
Read this next
GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use Increases Likelihood of Antidepressant Prescription
WEDNESDAY, May 15, 2024 -- Individuals taking glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists have a greater risk for subsequently being dispensed antidepressants, according to a...
Child Maltreatment Linked to Externalizing, Internalizing Behavior
TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Child maltreatment is associated with increases in externalizing and internalizing behaviors, according to a study published online May 14 in...
Virtual Reality Therapy Can Augment Depression Treatment
MONDAY, May 13, 2024 -- Extended reality-enhanced behavioral activation (XR-BA) may be a feasible, noninferior, and acceptable enhancement to traditional BA for major depressive...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.