Alcohol Leads From Depression To Suicide

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There is important news out of Berlin from the European College of Neuropharmacology and it has to do with a concerning but not unexpected link between alcoholism, depression and suicide.

Essentially the research confirms the fact that an underlying mood disorder often leads to suicidal behavior but the suicide attempt - especially when it is unplanned and impulsive - is driven by alcohol.

What the report is saying is that there is a difference between suicidal thoughts and the act. Alcohol dependence has little or no relationship with the ideas but when a person is suffering from severe depression it can lead to a person carrying out the suicide.