(Press-News.org)
Yale Study: Mobile Phone App Reduced Suicidal Behavior Among High-Risk Patients
August 08, 2025
by Christopher Gardner
A mobile phone app designed to deliver suicide-specific therapy reduced suicidal behavior among high-risk psychiatric inpatients, according to a new study by scientists at Yale School of Medicine and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine.
The study, published Aug. 8, 2025 in JAMA Network Open, found that the app, OTX-202, reduced the recurrence of post-discharge suicide attempts by 58.3% among patients who had previously attempted suicide. This reduction is a critical achievement for a group that is particularly vulnerable to repeated suicidal behaviors, the researchers said.
Users of the app also experienced sustained reductions in suicidal thoughts for up to 24 weeks after psychiatric hospitalization, according to the study. In contrast, patients who used an active control app in addition to treatment as usual showed early improvement, but suicidal thoughts rebounded by week 24.
These findings suggest that OTX-202 may help preserve long-term gains in mental health during the high-risk period following hospital discharge, according to the study.
“Although suicide-specific therapy is highly effective for reducing suicidal thoughts and urges, finding therapists who know how to do this life-saving therapy after leaving the hospital can be challenging. OTX-202 provides a possible solution to that problem,” said study co-first author Craig Bryan, PsyD, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and director of its Suicide Prevention Program.
Suicide remains among the top 10 causes of death in the U.S.; it is the second leading cause of death among individuals aged 10–14 and 25–34, the third leading cause among those aged 15–24, and the fourth leading cause among those aged 35–44. Since 1999, suicide rates have risen by more than 33%.
Each year, more than 1 million adults engage in nonfatal suicidal behavior, and nearly 500,000 are hospitalized for suicide attempts. Suicide and suicide attempts also cost the U.S. healthcare system and broader economy an estimated $500 billion annually underscoring the urgent need for scalable, effective, and economically viable interventions. Suicide is the only top killer without any prescription products for the vast majority of patients at risk.
“It can take weeks to months to see an outpatient provider after discharge; however, the weeks and months after discharge from psychiatric hospitalization are among the highest risk periods for suicide mortality, underscoring the critical need for effective interventions like OTX-202,” said co-first author, Patricia Simon, assistant professor adjunct of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
OTX-202, developed by Oui Therapeutics, offers a scalable and cost-effective approach during this critical gap.
Testing of OTX-202 by the Yale and Ohio State researchers involved a multi-site, double-blind randomized controlled trial with 339 psychiatric inpatients from six diverse hospitals across the United States.
The participants were randomly assigned to either the OTX-202 app or an active control app, both in addition to their usual treatment. The OTX-202 app delivered a suicide-specific therapy module while the control app included safety planning and psychoeducation.
Compared to the active control, patients using OTX-202 were significantly more likely to show clinical improvement, as measured by the Clinical Global Impression for Severity of Suicide-Change (CGI-SSC) scale. The CGI is widely used because it provides a standardized, clinician-rated measure of symptom severity and improvement over time, allowing for consistent assessment across diverse patient populations and treatment settings.
“Patients and those who care for them do not have access to reliable and effective tools and resources to reduce future suicide risk. This population faces arguably the biggest gap in access to effective interventions of any leading killer. The potential clinical and population health impact of this new option is extraordinary,” said senior author Seth Feuerstein, MD, JD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale.
Yale authors include Patricia Simon, PhD; Samuel T. Wilkinson, MD; Lauren Astorino, MSN, APRN; Alecia D. Dager, PhD; and Seth Feuerstein, MD, JD.
Ohio State authors include Craig Bryan, PsyD; Kristen M. Carpenter, PhD; Luke Misquitta, MD; Katherine Brownlowe, MD; Lauren R. Khazem, PhD; Jarred Hay and Austin G. Starkey.
Funding support: This research was supported in part by Oui Therapeutics Inc and by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R42MH123357).
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors, and it does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
END
‘A tipping point’: An update from the frontiers of Alzheimer’s disease research
One-third of people older than 85 in the United States are estimated to live with Alzheimer’s disease today, according to the National Institute on Aging. The condition’s characteristic long, slow decline places an enormous burden on families and on society. While the need for new treatments is urgent, Alzheimer’s is a complex disease that requires multidisciplinary research across a wide range of specialties.
In a new article led by Yale’s Amy Arnsten, researchers from across numerous disciplines share an ...
Key takeaways
Heavy use of antibiotics has led to bacterial strains that resist them, making some infections difficult to treat. Copper antimicrobials are increasingly used to reduce the emergence of resistant strains.
New research shows that heavy use of copper leads to the evolution of copper-resistant E. coli bacteria that can also resist antibiotic drugs.
Fortunately, when the use of copper is stopped, bacteria quickly revert to a less-resistant state, suggesting that alternating copper with other antimicrobials could be as effective without driving resistance.
Copper has emerged as an ally in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Copper sulfate ...
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — New computer simulations that model every atom of a protein as it folds into its final three-dimensional form support the existence of a recently identified type of protein misfolding. Proteins must fold into precise three-dimensional shapes — called their native state — to carry out their biological functions. When proteins misfold, they can lose function and, in some cases, contribute to disease. The newly spotted misfolding results in a change to a protein’s structure — either a loop that traps another section of the protein ...
For more than 30 years, scientists have studied how the myogenic determination gene number 1 (MYOD) protein binds DNA to modify the gene expression of muscle stem cells. Similar to the instant kung fu education Keanu Reeves downloaded in “The Matrix,” MYOD plugs into muscle stem cell DNA and reprograms the cells to build muscle.
MYOD also comes to the rescue when muscle tissue needs to be repaired after injury or to restore minor damage that occurs with athletic training or other physical activity. The transcription factor rallies nearby muscle stem cells to expand in number and become muscle ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – People’s perceptions of the world are easily impacted by the angle at which they view objects in it, suggests a new study.
This finding, made by researchers from The Ohio State University, was revealed by testing people’s ability to estimate the steepness of a hill. The study, recently published in the journal Perception, showed that most people, regardless of their visual orientation — or line of sight — will consistently overestimate its steepness.
Dennis Shaffer, lead author of the study and a professor of psychology at The Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus, said his team’s research aimed to understand ...
In the wake of a wildfire, there’s often an assumption that burned landscapes will be more susceptible to landslides. But new research from the University of Oregon suggests it’s not always that simple.
An analysis of the Columbia River Gorge, which runs along the border between Oregon and Washington, shows that steep, rocky watersheds in that area have been prone to debris flows and rockfall for thousands of years. Those events didn’t measurably increase after the Eagle Creek Fire, which scorched 47,000 acres of the gorge over the course of three months in 2017.
UO ...
Once viewed only as infectious invaders, bacteria are now understood to play an important role in overall health. For example, the gut microbiome—the community of microorganisms that inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract—has garnered much attention recently as studies have explored its relationship with health and disease.
But what about the mouth? The mouth is the second most diverse human microbial system and, as the start of the digestive system, is directly and frequently exposed to the external environment. However, it has been vastly overshadowed by the focus on the gut.
Now, a collaborative team including Modupe O. Coker of Penn ...
When several wildfires ignited in Los Angeles in early January of 2025, Miriam Marlier’s friends and neighbors came to her with questions about how to find reliable air quality information.
Marlier is a UCLA scientist and a member of the Western Fire and Forest Resilience Collaborative (WFFRC), a program of Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies led by Cary forest ecologist Winslow Hansen. Guided by decision makers, the collaborative conducts research to inform solutions to the Western US fire crisis.
During the January fires, “people were urgently trying ...
Fukuoka, Japan—Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a novel organic molecule that simultaneously exhibits two highly sought-after properties: efficient light emission suitable for advanced displays and strong light absorption for deep-tissue bioimaging. This breakthrough addresses a long-standing challenge in molecular design, paving the way for next-generation multifunctional materials. Their study, published online in the journal Advanced Materials on July 29, 2025, was conducted in collaboration with ...
Tropical cyclone cluster events over the North Atlantic. This image from NOAA's GOES-16 satellite on September 14, 2020, shows five tropical systems spinning in the Atlantic basin at one time. From left to right: Hurricane Sally in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Paulette east of the Carolinas, the remnants of Tropical Storm Rene in the central Atlantic, and Tropical Storms Teddy and Vicky in the eastern Atlantic. A total of 10 named storms formed in September 2020 — the most for any month on record. (Image credit: NOAA)
Tropical cyclones, commonly known as typhoons or hurricanes, can form in clusters and impact coastal regions ...
