Am Fam Physician. 2025;112(1):98-99
Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.
KEY POINTS FOR PRACTICE
• When assessing risk of suicide in the general population and those with psychiatric emergencies, the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale is the most useful for predicting suicidality.
• Cognitive behavior therapy is the only therapy intervention for suicide prevention with sufficient evidence of reducing risk.
• Caring contact via text or mail after hospitalization reduces suicide attempts but may not be beneficial after emergency department discharge.
• Although a single ketamine infusion reduces acute suicidal ideation, repeated ketamine or esketamine infusions do not appear to reduce suicide risk.
From the AFP Editors
The mortality rate from suicide increased from 14 deaths per 100,000 people in 2001 to 18 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. The suicide mortality rate in males (29 per 100,000) exceeds the rate in females (7 per 100,000). Firearms are responsible for 55% of suicide deaths, whereas 25% are due to suffocation. The US Department of Veterans Affairs and US Department of Defense (VA/DoD) published updated guidelines on evaluation and management of patients at risk for suicide.
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