Molecular Signatures in Acutely Suicidal Patients Without Somatic Comorbidities

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a debilitating mental health condition affecting millions worldwide. One critical yet often underexplored variable in MDD is the biological sex. Women are diagnosed with depression twice as often as men, account for two-thirds of suicide attempts, and tend to experience greater symptom severity, earlier onset, and longer depressive episodes. We analyzed blood plasma-based genome-wide gene expression using Affymetrix microarrays in 14 acutely suicidal patients (seven males, seven females) with no comorbid somatic or psychiatric disease, compared to a healthy, age- and gender-matched control group.