High Risk of Suicide in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Aim: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), evaluating possible risk factors for suicidality. Methods: Risk of suicide was assessed using the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) in 35 patients with bvFTD and 25 controls. Results: According to SSI, 40% of patients with bvFTD had suicidal ideation in comparison to 8% of controls (P = .009). Four patients with bvFTD have attempted suicide versus none control (P = .006). Patients with bvFTD with suicide risk showed higher levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and hopelessness than patients without suicide risk (P < .001). Patients who attempted suicide were younger and had a longer disease duration than those with only suicide ideation. Intriguingly, 40% of patients with parkinsonism presented high level of suicide ideation. Conclusions: Our findings show that patients with bvFTD have a high risk of suicide. Additional studies in larger populations are needed to confirm our results.