Comorbidity Part 2 - Neurobiology and Suicide Risk: Modelling the Consequences of Bipolar and Anxiety Co-Morbidity
Comorbidity Part 2 - Neurobiology and Suicide Risk: Modelling the Consequences of Bipolar and Anxiety Co-Morbidity
A review and conceptual model exploring bipolar disorder, co-occurring anxiety and factors associated with suicide risk.
About this publication
This is an original, plain-language summary based on the abstract and bibliographic record on Hrcak. It is not a reproduction of the article or a full-text review.
This paper reviews relationships between bipolar disorder with anxiety, rapid cycling, mixed affective states and suicide risk. It brings these topics together in a proposed neurobiological model.
Approach
The authors discuss evidence concerning dopamine signalling and variants in genes associated with D2 and D3 receptors. They also consider how co-occurring alcohol and substance use may relate to rapid cycling and suicidality.
Main points
The proposed model links several clinical presentations and biological mechanisms that the authors associate with increased suicide risk. Its purpose is to organise these relationships, not to calculate the likelihood of suicide for a particular person.
Important limitations
The abstract does not report a new prospective cohort or validation of the model as a prediction tool. Proposed genetic and neurobiological relationships should not be interpreted as deterministic. This historical academic review is not a substitute for current, individual clinical assessment or guidance.
This summary is for academic information and is not personal medical advice.
Citation and original source
Agius M, Verdolini N, Falzon Aquilina F, Butler S. Co-morbidity part 2 - neurobiology and suicide risk; modelling the consequences of bipolar and anxiety co-morbidity. Psychiatria Danubina. 2014;26(Suppl 1):336-339.
Source reviewed: 6 November 2026.