New test could revolutionise suicide prevention

Blood pressure, blood circulation and activity in the sweat glands of the fingers can reveal if a person is suicidal. “The results are so strong that I’m astonished”, says Professor Lars-Håkan Thorell, one of the researchers behind the study. “We can determine very accurately whether a person risks committing suicide, which can revolutionise suicide prevention.” […]

Blood pressure, blood circulation and activity in the sweat glands of the fingers can reveal if a person is suicidal. “The results are so strong that I’m astonished”, says Professor Lars-Håkan Thorell, one of the researchers behind the study. “We can determine very accurately whether a person risks committing suicide, which can revolutionise suicide prevention.” In the German-Swedish study, 783 depressed in-patients in Germany were tested for hyporeactivity – reduced ability to react to various stimuli. A suicidal depressed person reacts differently to environmental changes, compared to a healthy person. The test found that hyporeactivity was present in up to 97 per cent of depressed patients who later committed suicide, compared to just 2 per cent of the depressed patients who were not hyporeactive.