It's Hard To Predict Who Will Be Suicidal. It's Easier To Ensure People Can't Shoot Themselves

A KFF Health News report, reviewed by Drugs.com, says it’s “hard to predict” which people will attempt suicide, but more feasible to reduce access to lethal means. Citing research, the piece notes that prediction performs only slightly better than a coin toss and hasn’t improved in decades. It highlights psychiatrist Dr. Paul Nestadt of the Johns Hopkins Center for Suicide Prevention, who argues for interventions that don’t rely on pinpointing risk, including measures that limit what people can use. The article points to preliminary federal data: more than 28,000 suicide deaths involved guns last year, over half of U.S. cases, with gun suicides at record highs for five years.