Do Anxiety Disorders Increase Risk of Suicide?
There is inconclusive evidence from large studies.
The Dutch study of 7076 people randomly selected from the general population showed that even when other mental illnesses were controlled for, the presence of an Anxiety Disorder (in particular phobias) increased the risk of subsequent suicide attempts.
However, the Finnish retrospective study of 1397 people who had actually committed suicide found that they were NOT more likely to have had an Anxiety Disorder compared to rates in the general population.
Conclusion: people with a “pure” Anxiety Disorder may be at increased risk of self harm , but the most significant suicide risk arises when an Anxiety Disorder occurs together with another mental illness, or Personality Disorder, or with Substance Misuse.