Suicide risk almost seven times higher among patients who had onset of dementia in young age

Early recognition and a timely accurate diagnosis of dementia, combined with specialist support, are hugely important factors in reducing the distress caused by a young onset diagnosis.

Dr Charles Marshall, senior author and Clinical Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary, said:

"Improving access to a dementia diagnosis is an important healthcare priority. However, a dementia diagnosis can be devastating, and our work shows that we also need to ensure that services have the resources to provide appropriate support after a diagnosis is given."

Dr Danah Alothman, lead author and Researcher at the University of Nottingham, said:

"These findings suggest that memory clinics should particularly target suicide risk assessment to patients with young-onset dementia, patients in the first few months after dementia diagnosis and patients already known to have psychiatric problems."

Dr Alothman is grateful for PhD funding support provided through a scholarship from the Kuwait Civil Service Commission.

Reference:

Alothman D, Card T, Lewis S, Tyrrell E, Fogarty AW, Marshall CR. Risk of Suicide After Dementia Diagnosis. JAMA Neurol. Published online October 03, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3094