Differential associations of affective temperaments and diagnosis of major affective disorders with suicidal behavior

Background Affective temperaments are associated with suicidal risk, but their predictive value relative to diagnosis of major affective disorder is uncertain. Methods We compared diagnoses, affective-temperament ratings (TEMPS-A), and other potential risk factors in 956 psychiatric inpatients, using bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression modeling for associations with suicidal status. Results Lifetime suicide-attempt rates were high (43.9% overall), ranking by diagnosis: bipolar-II (58.4%), major depressive (50.0%), bipolar-I (44.6%), other (38.0%), and psychotic (33.9%) disorders. TEMPS-A scores for depressive (dep), cyclothymic (cyc), irritable (irr), and anxious (anx) temperaments and their sum were strongly associated with suicidal risk; hyperthymic (hyp) temperament scores were inversely associated; and a composite measure (dep+cyc+irr+anx \u2013 hyp), even more strongly associated. The composite score was highly, independently associated with suicidal behavior (p