Tobacco smoking: the likely confounder of the association between heart diseases and suicide

Tobacco smoking: the likely confounder of the association between heart diseases and suicide:

Abstract

An elevated risk of suicide among individuals with cardiovascular diseases has previously been reported, although inconsistently. Petersen et al. (1) recently confirmed the association between heart diseases and suicide. Among the strengths of the Petersen et al. study [1] is the cohort's considerable size and complete population coverage countrywide and the ability to address a number or potential confounders notably psychiatric disorders. Depression seems to be related to a poor prognosis among patients with acute coronary syndrome [2]. In addition, depression ‐ along with other psychiatric disorders ‐ is associated with increased suicide mortality [3]. Showing that the association between heart diseases and suicide persists after adjustment for psychiatric disorders [1] is thus an important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between heart diseases and suicide.