Visual distortions independent of depression are significantly associated with suicidal ideation among adolescents, according to Niklas Granö, Ph.D., and his associates.
Dr. Granö’s team met with the participants (mean age, 15.5 years) and a member of the Jorvi Early Psychosis Recognition and Intervention team in southern Finland. The adolescents were asked to complete several screens, including the Beck Depression Inventory II. Later, the participants were assessed by telephone contact. After analyzing the data, the investigators found visual distortions to be the only independent predictor of suicidal ideation among the participants after adjustments for age, sex, depression, and other psychosis risk symptoms (odds ratio, 4.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-14.64).
Since previous studies have suggested that people who commit suicide tend to visit their primary care doctors about a month before their suicide, “it could be a useful part of the screening process among help-seekers to assess psychotic experience as a part of first-step assessment and focus extra attention in terms of psychiatric care for those with psychotic experiences and visual distortions,” the investigators recommended.
Find the full study in Psychiatry Research (doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.12.031).