Suicide accounts for more than 700,000 deaths annually and is the fourth leading cause of death among individuals aged 15 to 29 years. Despite years of research to understand the etiology and pathophysiology of suicidal behavior, many questions remain unresolved—for example, whether suicidal behavior has a unique genetic or neurobiological basis and how these differ from related psychiatric conditions, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc. Identifying these biological correlates is paramount to advancing our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie suicidal behavior. In this literature review, we examine the complex nature of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, integrating insights from large-scale genetic and neuroimaging studies published between 2018 and 2023. Recent genome-wide association studies have uncovered specific genomic loci associated with specific suicidal behaviors. However, there is a need for larger and more diverse samples in these studies to overcome challenges in replicability and generalizability. Neuroimaging studies have also revealed structural brain differences associated with suicidal behavior, thanks to international consortium–level efforts that have enabled data sharing, collaboration, and coordinated analyses that improve the robustness and reliability of findings. Despite promising progress in identifying the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of suicidal behavior, the translation of these advances and findings into effective suicide prevention strategies and clinical tools remains a crucial challenge. Consequently, future studies must focus on integrating biological elements into an improved mechanistic understanding of the etiology of suicidal behavior, which in turn can translate into new strategies for early detection, intervention, and treatment.

中文翻译：

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自杀行为的遗传和大脑结构相关性的最新突破：简短回顾


自杀每年导致超过 700,000 人死亡，是 15 至 29 岁人群的第四大死因。尽管进行了多年的研究以了解自杀行为的病因和病理生理学，但许多问题仍未解决——例如，自杀行为是否具有独特的遗传或神经生物学基础，以及它们与相关的精神疾病有何不同，如抑郁症、双相情感障碍、精神分裂症等。确定这些生物学相关性对于促进我们对自杀行为基础机制的理解至关重要。在这篇文献综述中，我们研究了自杀念头和行为的复杂性质，整合了 2018 年至 2023 年间发表的大规模遗传学和神经影像学研究的见解。最近的全基因组关联研究发现了与特定自杀行为相关的特定基因组位点。然而，在这些研究中需要更大、更多样化的样本来克服可重复性和泛化性方面的挑战。神经影像学研究还揭示了与自杀行为相关的大脑结构差异，这要归功于国际联盟层面的努力，这些努力使数据共享、协作和协调分析成为可能，从而提高了研究结果的稳健性和可靠性。尽管在确定自杀行为的遗传和神经生物学基础方面取得了可喜的进展，但将这些进展和发现转化为有效的自杀预防策略和临床工具仍然是一个关键挑战。 因此，未来的研究必须侧重于将生物元素整合到对自杀行为病因的改进机制理解中，这反过来可以转化为早期发现、干预和治疗的新策略。