We have received $1,494,898 from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for the Saving Lives project!
The project aims to improve precision in prediction and prevention of suicide by constructing a national cohort of genetic and environmental data. The ultimate goal is to decrease suicide rates.
Suicide is a tragic event for the individual, the relatives and society. We therefore make efforts to prevent suicide, and a typical way of doing this is to assess suicide risk. Still, studies in psychiatric populations show that current assessments available will classify one out of two suicidal individuals as low risk before an actual death by suicide, while 95% of those classified as high risk will eventually not die by suicide.
Why?
The causes of suicide are complex. Many different factors and life events contribute. To improve prediction, large studies and long follow-up are needed to reach meaningful sample sizes.
Using unique Swedish assets, of genetic and environmental data, and machine learning we have an opportunity a discover environmental and genetic risk factors associated with suicide in order to predict and prevent it.
We thank the AFSP for this grant.
Rücklab - Psychiatry research at Karolinska Institutet 