Table 4 Reviews and meta-analyses
From: The suicide prevention effect of lithium: more than 20 years of evidence—a narrative review
Year/country | Author | Diagnoses | Medication | Number of patients | Duration | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997/Italy, USA | Tondo et al. | Affective disorders | Comparison of Li treatment with non-Li treatment period | Over 17,000 | 8.6-fold higher risk for suicide and SA within the non-Li-treated group | |
After discontinuation of Li therapy, 7-fold increase of suicidal events | ||||||
Retrospective cohort study | ||||||
2005/UK | Cipriani et al. | Affective disorders | Li | 1389 Li-treated patients | Long-term treatment | Li reduced suicide risk and all-cause mortality by approximately 60 % |
Other compounds | ||||||
2069 with other-substances-treated patients | ||||||
2006/US | Baldessarini et al. | Affective disorders (mainly unipolar) | Li | 33,340 patients | 85.229 patient years | Lithium-treated patients had 5-fold reduced risk for suicides and SA compared to patients without lithium |
2007/USA, Italy | Guzzetta et al. | Unipolar depression | Li | 328 | 4.65 years with lithium | Overall risk for suicides and SA was 88.5 % lower with lithium |
6.27 years without lithium | ||||||
2013/UK | Cipriani et al. | Mood disorders | 15 comparisons | 6674 participants | 48 randomized controlled trials | Li more effective than placebo in reducing number of suicides and deaths from any causes |