The risk of suicide in a patient with Huntington's Disease (HD) is much higher than that seen in the general population (range 7 to 200 times greater rate).
Diseases stages when prone to suicide ideation:
(1) immediately before getting a definite diagnosis of HD (presence of "soft" signs)
(2) during Stage 2 of disease (mild disease with early signs of functional impairment)
where:
• Suicide ideation is a risk factor for suicide. The ability to predict who will actually attempt suicide or who will succeed is poor.
• The Stage of HD was based on the Total Functional Capacity Score.
• Stages 1 and 3 also show an increased rate of suicide ideation.
Patients with the lowest rate of suicide ideation:
(1) normal neurological examination (preclinical)
(2) advanced disease (Stage 5)
Other factors that might contribute to the risk (not listed in the paper):
(1) pre-existing depression
(2) witnessing a family member deteriorate in an unpleasant manner
