Life in the flame: Inflammation sounds the alarm for suicide risk

Abstract

As suicide became a critical issue in mental healthcare, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented a Mental Health Action Plan in 2013. Particularly, the plan set an explicit goal for suicide prevention, which called for 10% reduction in the suicide rate in member countries by 2020. Now the tough year of 2020 has passed by, many valuable breakthroughs on suicide research have emerged during these recent years. To some extent, a multi-stage system for the prediction and prevention of suicide is taking shape. Inflammatory biomarkers may have a promising future within this field.

Keywords

• Suicide
• Inflammation
• Cytokines
• Psychiatry