This book is published by International Academic Press and distributed by Trafford Publishing, Victoria, BC, Canada

Alcohol use disorders are a major medical and social problem facing many countries. The consumption of alcoholic beverages has risen steadily since World War II and drinking begins now at an earlier age. The steady increase in alcohol production and consumption is related to the broader growth of commodity production in industrialized societies in which alcoholic beverages are consumed in tandem with other new forms of commodities and foods.

Alcohol use is associated with suicide risk. It plays two different roles. Ongoing alcohol use disorders can contribute to suicide risk by effects on mood and impulsive-aggressive traits. Acute alcohol consumption at the time of a suicide attempt can have a disinhibiting effect. Alcohol is involved in 40 percent of suicide attempts. Nonetheless, individuals with alcohol dependence have a 60 – 120 times greater suicide risk than the non-psychiatrically ill population.

Editors:Leo Sher, M.D., Isack Kandel, Ph.D., Joav Merrick, M.D.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Daniel TL Shek, PhD, FHKPs.S, BBS, JP

Introduction
Alcohol and suicide: A major public health problem
Leo Sher and Joav Merrick

PART ONE: PRENATAL, CHILDHOOD AND GENETIC INFLUENCES

Chapter 1. Fetal alcohol syndrome and suicide
Joav Merrick, Isack Kandel and Mohammed Morad

Chapter 2. Childhood abuse, alcohol and suicidality
Nita J Makhija

Chapter 3. Parental alcoholism, cannabis dependence and suicidal behavior
Mikkel Arendt, Leo Sher, Lone Fjordback, Jack Brandholdt and Povl Munk-Jorgensen

PART TWO: NEUROBIOLOGY

Chapter 4. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the neurobiology of alcohol use disorders and suicide
Leo Sher

Chapter 5. Combined dexamethasone suppression-corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in research on alcohol use disorders and suicidal behavior
Leo Sher

Chapter 6. Interaction between allergic inflammation and alcohol intake and pathophysiology of suicide
Gloria M Reeves, Leonardo H Tonelli, Bruno J Anthony and Teodor T Postolache

Chapter 7. Functional magnetic resonance imaging and suicidal behavior in alcohol misuse
Leo Sher

Chapter 8. Selenium deficiciency and suicidal behavior in alcoholism
Leo Sher

PART THREE: EPIDEMIOLOGY

Chapter 9. Alcohol consumption and geriatric suicide
Leo Sher

Chapter 10. Ethnicity, alcohol use and suicidal behavior
Shelly A Groves, Barbara H Stanley and Leo Sher

PART FOUR: CLINICAL ASPECTS

Chapter 11. Alcohol and suicide: clinical considerations
Leo Sher

PART FIVE: COMORBIDITY

Chapter 12. Depression, alcohol use and suicidality
Elisha R Galaif, Steve Sussman, Michael D Newcomb and Thomas F Locke

Chapter 13. Pathological personality traits and suicidal ideation in patients with alcohol misuse
Juan J Carballo, Hector Bird, Lucas Giner, Pedro Garcia-Parajua, Jorge Iglesias, Leo Sher and David Shaffer

Chapter 14. Triggers for suicidal behavior in comorbid major depression and alcohol use disorders
Leo Sher, Dahlia Sperling, Barbara H Stanley, Juan J Carballo, Gal Shoval, Gil Zalsman, Ainsley K Burke, J John Mann and Maria A Oquendo

PART SIX: ACUTE ALCOHOL USE

Chapter 15. Acute alcohol use and suicide
Lucas Giner, Juan J Carballo, Julio A Guija, Dahlia Sperling, Maria A Oquendo, Pedro Garcia-Parajua, Leo Sher and José Giner

PART SEVEN: PREVENTION

Chapter 16. Preventing suicide in patients with alcohol use disorders
Nita J Makhija and Leo Sher

Chapter 17. Suicide in individuals with alcohol use disorders: risks and resilience
Leo Sher

Chapter 18. Suicide prevention in adolescents with alcohol use disorders: The role of the pediatrician
Juan J Carballo, Maria Clavel, Lucas Giner and Leo Sher

PART EIGHT: REFLECTIONS

Chapter 19. Suicide among the young
James Garrett White

PART NINE: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chapter 20. About the authors

Chapter 21. About the editors

Chapter 22. About the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel

PART TEN: INDEX

Index