Suicide is a major public health problem with an estimated global burden of more than 800 000 deaths per year, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide.1 Individuals with mental health conditions are at high risk of dying by suicide and attempting suicide,2, 3 with about 90% of people who kill themselves considered to suffer from a psychiatric disorder.4 Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to the risk of suicide in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), one of the most common and disabling mental disorders.5 OCD has a lifetime prevalence of approximately 2% in the general population,5 often runs a chronic course and is associated with substantial reductions in quality of life.6 OCD is generally accompanied by other psychiatric disorders, with comorbidity rates as high as 90%,5 that further contribute to the burden associated with the disorder.7
