This research has several important limitations. First, while we utilized the largest sample of non-European participants available in MVP, we still lacked sufficient power within the AFR-like participants to identify loci associated with externalizing. As future releases of MVP become available, it will be important to include larger samples and data from additional populations. Second, these analyses focused solely on the role of genetic risk. Suicidal behaviors are complex, and social factors (e.g., unemployment, experiences of homelessness, social support) also play an important role56. Future efforts should examine genomic risk factors in conjunction with well-established social and clinical determinants of suicide-related outcomes, as has been done with SUD70. Third, our sample was predominantly comprised of men (~85%) and there are large gender differences in suicidal behaviors, especially in regard to suicide attempt vs death. Whether the results from the current analysis generalize broadly remains an open question.
