Document Type : Research paper
Authors
1 Department of Psychiatry, Bangladesh Specialized Hospital Limited, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh.
2 Department of Psychiatry, Ad-din Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
3 Department of Research, Centre for Development Action, Dhaka, Bangladesh
4 School of Allied Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Essex, UK
Abstract
Background: Blood biomarkers showed some associations with mental health conditions . However, they remain
inconclusive in predicting psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts. Identification of peripheral blood biomarkers
for suicide prediction could enable early preventive measures as they are cheap and easy to measure.
Objectives: We aim to compare blood biomarkers between people who have attempted suicide and who have
psychiatric disorders.
Methods: Data was collected for this cross-sectional study between July 2021 and November 2023 from 55 hospitalised
patients categorised into two groups – suicide attempt (n=29) and psychiatric disorder (n=26). We measured the
complete blood count and C-reactive protein (CRP).All statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 and were tested using a two-sided test, and a p-value of <0.05 was
considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 26.1 (±10.0) years which was significantly lower for people with suicide
attempts than for those with psychiatric disorders. The mean CRP level (p=0.011), total leukocyte count (p=0.024),
neutrophil (p=0.002), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR, p=0.002) were significantly higher among people
with suicide attempts, whereas the lymphocyte (p=0.002) and monocyte (0.029) were significantly higher among
psychiatric patients.
Conclusion: The findings showed NLR and CRP were more prominent blood biomarkers in suicide attempts than in
psychiatric patients. However, due to the small sample size, caution is required when generalising the study results.
Keywords
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio
- C-reactive protein
- non-fatal suicidal attempts
- suicide in Bangladesh
- cross-sectional analysis
- psychiatric disorder
Main Subjects
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