Do prescribed opioids increase self-harm and suicide?

Pills,With,Funny,Faces,And,A,Glass,Bottle,On,A

Study of 3 million Australian adults prescribed opioids, 84% of self-harm events and 81% of suicides didn’t involve opioids. Challenges belief that prescribing increases self-harm risk.

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Is depression a cause or consequence? Using genetics to untangle causal relationships

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This study used Mendelian randomisation to test potential causal relationships between depression and 137 traits. Depression liability was linked to somatic diseases, inflammation, suicide risk, insomnia, lower cognitive function and functional impairments, though findings require validation.

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A cancer diagnosis brings a suicide risk: The sooner after diagnosis, and the more aggressive the cancer, the higher the risk

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Does a first cancer diagnosis increase a person’s risk of suicide? This national study from Denmark offers rare clarity, tracking 30 cancer types across two decades to uncover patterns that clinicians and policymakers cannot afford to ignore.

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Domestic violence and suicide in women: insights from a national UK study

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Over a quarter of women who died by suicide while under UK mental health care had experienced domestic abuse. This national study reveals who is most at risk and highlights how services can adapt to help prevent tragedy.

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When love breaks down: relationship breakdowns and suicide risk in men

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Men are around 3 times more likely to die by suicide than women, and new evidence suggests relationship breakdowns could be a key risk factor. A major 2025 meta-analysis explores the complex links between separation, divorce, and suicidality in men.

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Can green space help protect us from self-harm and suicide?

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Trish Darcy on a systematic review which suggests a protective association between green space exposure and all suicide-related outcomes. The protective associations were stronger for women than for men.

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School connectedness may protect against suicidal ideation in adolescents

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Monika Raniti and Jennifer Dam summarise a recent narrative systematic review, which suggests that school connectedness can help protect against suicidality, but the research points to it being more protective of suicidal ideation than suicide attempts.

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New meta-analysis confirms high suicide rates amongst doctors #WMHD2024

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Today is World Mental Health Day and the theme this year is ‘Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace’. Clare Gerada reviews a study showing that doctor suicide rates, particularly for females, exceed those of the general population.

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Ethnic disparities in suicide mortality: what’s going on?

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Pauline Rivart summarises a national cohort study of ethnicity and suicide in England and Wales, which presents a “paradoxical finding of a lower rate of suicide in almost all minority ethnic groups compared with the White British majority”.

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Supporting NHS colleagues following a coworker’s suicide: a postvention theory

Implementing structured protocols, enhancing training, strengthening support, and promoting open communication are all steps that can be implemented within workplaces to better support staff wellbeing after a colleague’s suicide.

In her debut blog, Brittany Oldale collaborates with Sarah Watts to summarise a grounded theory study that sought to create a postvention theory for how to support colleagues’ following a colleague’s suicide within the NHS.

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