Dementia diagnosis before age 65 ‘ups suicide risk’

The finding is important for both dementia screening and suicide prevention in primary care, say researchers
Doctor talking earnestly to patient - a man in his 70s

People diagnosed with dementia under the age of 65 have a near threefold increased risk of suicide than those without the neurodegenerative condition, a population-based study shows.

The likelihood of suicide was higher still — sevenfold — among under-65s in the first three months of diagnosis, according to findings in the UK case-control study of 600,000 patients older than 15.