Analysis of the efficacy of lithium in the prevention of suicide in patients with mood disorders: an integrative review

• Main Author: Alves, Vanessa Nunes
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Rêgo , Tatyanne Heitmann Mares, Nadai, Eduarda Pinheiro de, Machado, Yuri de Castro
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Research, Society and Development
• Download full: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/37054
• topic: Mood disorders; Lithium; Suicide.; Transtornos del Humor; Litio; Suicidio.; Transtornos do humor; Lítio; Suicídio.

Background: Mood disorders refer to those whose main symptom is a change in mood or affect, altering animosity and the way of feeling, thinking and behaving. Since the 1970s, a number of primary studies have pointed to lithium's effectiveness in reducing the risk of suicide. Objectives: To carry out an integrative review of the literature on the efficacy of lithium in preventing suicide risk in patients with mood disorders. Methodology: Integrative review, which used the descriptors “lithium”, “prevention” and “suicide” in the LILACS, SciELO and PUBMED databases. Inclusion criteria were articles published in English, of the randomized clinical trial type, between 2000 and 2022, indexed in the chosen databases and available for full reading. The research was carried out according to the PRISMA flowchart for integrative and systematic reviews. Six articles were selected for review. Results and Discussion: Three studies showed that lithium did not reduce suicide attempts in patients with bipolar affective disorder (BD) or major depression. Differences in lithium doses, sociodemographic conditions, type of control group and type of mood disorder may cause the results to be discrepant when compared with each other. Conclusion: Although lithium is used to prevent suicidal behavior in patients with mood disorders, the studies analyzed showed divergent results regarding its effectiveness in this group.