Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Mar 22, 2017; 7(1): 44-59
Published online Mar 22, 2017. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v7.i1.44
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and suicide: A systematic review
Judit Balazs, Agnes Kereszteny
Judit Balazs, Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Hospital, H-1021 Budapest, Hungary
Judit Balazs, Agnes Kereszteny, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary
Agnes Kereszteny, School of Ph.D. Studies, Semmelweis University, H-1086 Budapest, Hungary
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Author Judit Balazs has received a speaker honorarium from E. Lilly Company and she is a member of the Advisory Board committee of E. Lilly Company. Author Agnes Kereszteny declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The current manuscript does not describe a study, it is a systematic review.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Judit Balazs, MD, PhD, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella u. 46, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary. balazs.judit@ppk.elte.hu
Telephone: +36-1-3921400 Fax: +36-1-3921401
Received: October 31, 2016
Peer-review started: November 2, 2016
First decision: November 30, 2016
Revised: January 2, 2017
Accepted: January 16, 2017
Article in press: January 18, 2017
Published online: March 22, 2017
Processing time: 139 Days and 1.3 Hours
Abstract
AIM

To investigate suicidality and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this paper aims to systematically review the literature as an extension of previous reviews.

METHODS

We searched five databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Psychinfo, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) with two categories of search terms: (1) suicide; suicidal; suicide behavior; suicide attempt; suicidal thought; and (2) ADHD.

RESULTS

The search resulted 26 articles. There is a positive association between ADHD and suicidality in both sexes and in all age groups. Comorbid disorders mediate between suicidality and ADHD.

CONCLUSION

Recognizing ADHD, comorbid conditions and suicidality is important in prevention.

Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Suicide; Systematic review

Core tip: This review of the last four years strengthens previous findings that there is a positive association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suicidality in both sexes and in all age groups. Suicidality should screen in patients with ADHD. Comorbid disorders mediate between suicidality and ADHD. Recognizing ADHD and comorbid conditions can be important in suicide prevention as well.