Suicidal and homicidal tendencies after Lyme disease: an ignored problem
Aitzaz Munir,1 Muhammad Aadil,2 Ahmad Rehan Khan3
1Department of Psychiatry, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA; 2Department of Psychiatry, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; 3Department of Psychiatry, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA
We would like to applaud the author for conducting such an important study by performing a comprehensive assessment of suicide and its association with Lyme-associated diseases (LADs).1 It is the first study of its kind, and it raises a need for further investigation on this subject. Suicide is a major health care issue in the USA, contributing to almost 42,773 deaths in the USA in 2014.2 There is no data available specific to suicide associated with LAD. Dr Bransfield inferred the possible prevalence of suicide associated with LAD by an indirect method which revealed that 414,540 patients with LAD have suicidal ideation, 31,100 attempt suicide and a total of 1,244 commit suicide in the USA per year from LAD.1,2
Robert C Bransfield
Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers-RWJ Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USA
I would like to thank Munir, Aadil, and Khan for their insightful letter identifying necessary future directions. They recognize the value of accurate and early diagnosis of Lyme and associated diseases (LADs), the value of individualized treatment that includes both antibiotics and traditional psychiatric treatments and future epidemiological and research directions. These efforts could help prevent many tragic suicides. Suicidal and homicidal tendencies after Lyme disease are clearly an ignored problem that deserves greater attention.
View the original paper by Bransfield.
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