Abuse may cause DNA changes that increase suicide risk. Physical and emotional abuse in childhood may cause changes to DNA that increase the risk of death by suicide, say Canadian researchers, whose findings may one day lead to tests to determine suicide risk, as well as treatments to lower the likelihood of taking one's life.
Every year, one million people end their lives by suicide, leaving friends and family not only mourning the loss of a loved one, but struggling to understand why the tragedy occurred. A discovery by researchers in Montreal suggests that some suicide victims may have taken their lives because past abuse led to changes in their very DNA. Researchers at the McGill Group for Suicide Studies have studied the brains of 60 people, many of whom were male suicide victims.