Two innovative new app based questionnaires could help identify the suicide risk for females when these tools are used along with a blood test designed to detect certain biomarkers. When the app based questionnaires were used along with the blood test the researchers were able to predict any future suicidal thoughts with an accuracy of 82%. In addition the researchers could accurately predict future hospitalizations associated with suicidal thoughts or actions at around 78%. In 2015 research was published that showed the suicide risk for males could be predicted with certain questionnaires and biomarker blood tests, and the latest research shows that these study findings could also be used for women as well. The Indiana University School of Medicine researchers determined that while women tend to successfully commit suicide less often than men women generally make more attempts to do so but they typically use means which are less violent and which may not be as lethal.
IU School of Medicine professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience, Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center attending psychiatrist, and principal investigator for the latest study on suicide risk and app based questionnaires Alexander B. Niculescu III, M.D., Ph.D. Explained the findings. “Women have not been adequately studied in research about suicide, and we did not know how well we would be able to define objective predictors of suicide in women. It was important to determine whether biomarkers and app-based questionnaires could be used to make predictions among women, and whether such tests can be adjusted for gender to be more accurate. These results suggest that the best way to proceed would be to use gender-tailored approaches.”
