CAMH, 250 College St, Toronto, M5T1R8, Canada.
St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2023 Oct;130(10):1303-1313. doi: 10.1007/s00702-023-02661-2. Epub 2023 Aug 16.
Suicide is a significant public health crisis, with 800,000 people dying annually. Most people completing suicide have previous psychiatric conditions, and those with psychotic and mood disorders are particularly vulnerable. Unfortunately, there are currently no biomarkers available for accurately detecting suicidal ideation. Given the genetic and environmental factors that play a role in suicidal ideation, we attempted to determine epigenetic modifications, specifically DNA methylation, in response to changes in suicidal ideation. Using a longitudinal study design, 31 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were interviewed at a baseline visit and again at a follow-up visit 3-12 months later. Current suicidal ideation was recorded at both visits with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, and whole blood was collected for methylation analysis. Our analysis shows a significant negative correlation between cg26910920 methylation and increasing Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale scores and a positive correlation between cg13673029 methylation and increasing Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation scores. This pilot study indicates that there is the possibility that DNA methylation can respond to changes in suicidal ideation over time and potentially be used as a biomarker of suicidal ideation in the future.
自杀是一个严重的公共卫生危机，每年有 80 万人自杀身亡。大多数自杀者都有先前的精神疾病，而患有精神病和情绪障碍的人尤其脆弱。不幸的是，目前尚无生物标志物可用于准确检测自杀意念。鉴于遗传和环境因素在自杀意念中起作用，我们试图确定对自杀意念变化的表观遗传修饰，特别是 DNA 甲基化。使用纵向研究设计，31 名患有精神分裂症谱系障碍的参与者在基线访问时接受采访，然后在 3-12 个月后的随访访问时再次接受采访。目前的自杀意念在两次就诊时均使用哥伦比亚自杀严重程度评定量表和贝克自杀意念量表进行记录，同时采集全血进行甲基化分析。我们的分析表明，cg26910920 甲基化与哥伦比亚自杀严重程度评定量表评分的增加呈显著负相关，而 cg13673029 甲基化与贝克自杀意念量表评分的增加呈正相关。这项初步研究表明，DNA 甲基化有可能随着时间的推移对自杀意念的变化做出反应，并有可能在未来成为自杀意念的生物标志物。
