@article{ref1,
title="Cognition in recent suicide attempts: altered executive function",
journal="Frontiers in psychiatry",
year="2021",
author="Fernández-Sevillano, Jessica and Alberich, Susana and Zorrilla, Iñaki and Gonzalez-Ortega, Itxaso and López, María Purificación and Perez, Victor and Vieta, Eduard and Gonzalez-Pinto, Ana and Saiz, Pilar",
volume="12",
number="",
pages="e701140-e701140",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Neuropsychological alterations can lead to inaccurate perception, interpretation, and response to environmental information, which could be a risk factor for suicide. <br><br>METHODS: Ninety-six subjects were recruited from the Psychiatry Department of the Araba University Hospital-Santiago, including 20 patients with a recent attempt and diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) according to DSM-V, 33 MDD patients with history of attempted suicide, 23 non-attempter MDD patients, and 20 healthy controls. All participants underwent a clinical interview and neuropsychological assessment on the following cognitive domains: working memory, processing speed, decision-making, executive function, and attention. Backward multiple regressions were performed adjusting for significant confounding variables. For group comparisons, ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were performed with a p < 0.05 significance level. <br><br>RESULTS: The patient groups did not differ regarding severity of depression and stressful events in the last 6 months. In comparison to healthy controls, depressed patients with lifetime suicide attempts had more general trauma (p = 0.003), emotional abuse (p = 0.003), emotional negligence (p = 0.006), and physical negligence (p = 0.009), and depressed patients with recent suicide attempts had experienced more child sexual abuse (p = 0.038). Regarding neuropsychological assessment, all patient groups performed significantly worse than did healthy controls in processing speed, decision-making, and attention. Comparisons between patient groups indicated that recent suicide attempters had poorer performance on executive function in comparison to both depressed lifetime attempters and depressed non-attempters (B = 0.296, p = 0.019, and B = 0.301, p = 0.028, respectively). Besides, women with recent attempts had slightly better scores on executive function than males. Regarding the rest of the cognitive domains, there were no significant differences between groups. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Executive function performance is altered in recent suicide attempts. As impaired executive function can be risk factor for suicide, preventive interventions on suicide should focus on its assessment and rehabilitation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1664-0640",
doi="10.3389/fpsyt.2021.701140",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.701140"
}