Levels of IL-6 are Associated with Lifetime Attempted Suicide in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients

Jørgen G Bramness,1– 3 Susmita Pandey,1 Jenny Skumsnes Moe,1,3 Helge Toft,4 Lars Lien,1,4 Fredrik A Walby,5 Martin Øverlien Myhre,5 Ingeborg Bolstad1,4 1Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway; 2Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Oslo, Norway; 3Institute of Clinical Medicine, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; 4Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway; 5National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayCorrespondence: Jørgen G Bramness, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O.Box 222, Oslo, 0213, Norway, Email jobr@fhi.noBackground: Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have an increased risk of suicide. Neuroimmunological measures, such as cytokines, are shown to deviate in people with attempted suicide. Few studies have investigated this among AUD patients.Patients and Methods: One-hundred and fourteen patients undergoing residential treatment for AUD were interviewed on lifetime suicide attempts (SA) along with several other background variables and clinical characteristics. Serum blood samples were drawn for analysis of cytokines.Results: Thirty-one patients (27%) reported at least one SA. These patients had more symptoms of current affective disorders and more severe dependence. In bivariate analysis only IL-6 and IL-10 appeared to be associated with lifetime SA but without reaching statistical significance. In multivariate linear regression, adjusting for sex, nicotine use, somatic illness, and the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, IL-6 was associated to SA (p = 0.033).Conclusion: The cytokine IL-6 has repeatedly been found to be associated with suicidality. The present study concurs with this role of IL-6 in a naturalistic observational study of AUD patients.Keywords: alcohol use disorder, suicide attempted, cytokines, interleukins