Genetic Vulnerability as a Distal Risk Factor for Suicidal Behaviour: Historical Perspective and Current Knowledge

INTRODUCTION: Suicide is a multidimensional problem. Observations of family history of suicide suggest the existence of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour. AIM: Starting with a historical perspective, the article reviews current knowledge of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour, distinct from the genetic vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, focused on clinical and population-based studies, and findings from recent molecular genetics association studies. METHOD: The review includes peer-reviewed research articles and review papers from the professional literature in English language, retrieved from PubMed/Medline and PsycINFO. RESULTS: The research literature confirms a existence of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour. Even though the results of individual studies are difficult to compare, genetic influences could explain up to half of the variance of the occurrence of suicide. CONCLUSION: Genetic vulnerability could be a distal risk factor for suicide, which helps us to understand the occurrence of suicide among vulnerable people. Ethical implications of such vulnerability are highlighted.