College suicide screening effective

ATLANTA, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A pilot suicide prevention outreach program was successful in identifying and treating college students with severe depression, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta said depression is a significant risk factor for suicide, and suicide is the third-leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults, behind accidents and homicides.

"A profound percentage of the students who participated in the screening program reported current -- past four weeks -- suicide ideation and were subsequently treated," Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff said in a statement.

The study, published in the journal Depression and Anxiety, found that 11 percent of the participants in the screening project reported current suicidal ideation, 16.5 percent had made at least one lifetime suicide attempt and more than half had clinically significant depression.

From 2002 to 2005, approximately 8,000 students were invited to participate in the program and asked to complete a brief questionnaire that covered depression and related problems. A total of 729 Emory students participated by completing the questionnaire.

More than 90 percent of the students viewed the counselor's assessment; 34 percent engaged in dialogues with counselors and 20 percent had an evaluation. More than 80 students characterized as high-risk entered psychotherapy after the in-person evaluation.