actually the only medicine that carries an fda label to reduce the risk of suicidal behavior is clozapine in schizophrenia. lithium is thought to reduce the risk of suicidal behavior in people with mood disorders but that's more of a clinical impression on the part of clinicians and not a formal statement in the fda label for lithium. it was never really "tested" specifically for this purpose it's more of an incidental observation that has been noted over the years. some researchers also think the anti-suicide data with lithium has been overstated and may be more of an artifact that when lithium reduces mood episodes less suicidal acts occur. or that when lithium is co-administered with other medicines (especially antidepressants) people stabilize and are less likely to try to hurt themselves. a study by researchers at columbia university a couple of years ago compared suicidal behaviors in a large group of bipolar patients who were taking lithium or depakote over several years and found no differences between the two.
does lithium prevent suicide? how about other drugs?