Dietary niacin intake and suicidal thoughts in American adults
What it found
Higher dietary niacin intake was linked to fewer reports of suicidal thoughts among 26,224 American adults.
The link was strongest up to about 27 mg a day.
What they found
Studies in people
Fewer suicidal thoughts
People who ate more niacin were less likely to report suicidal thoughts. This held true even after accounting for age, gender, weight, smoking, depression, and other factors.
A daily threshold
The link followed an L-shaped curve. Eating more niacin was tied to fewer suicidal thoughts up to 26.78 mg a day. Beyond that amount, eating more did not show a further drop.
Stronger link with high cholesterol
The connection between higher niacin intake and fewer suicidal thoughts was clearer in people who had a history of high blood fats.
Role of inflammation
A blood marker called C-reactive protein, which signals inflammation, explained about 3.6% of the link between niacin intake and suicidal thoughts.
What the authors conclude
- They found that eating more niacin was linked to fewer suicidal thoughts in American adults, especially up to 26.78 mg a day.
- They suggest that keeping niacin intake at or above this level could help lower the chance of having these thoughts.
- They call for future studies that follow people over time or use controlled trials to test if eating niacin-rich foods actually prevents suicidal thoughts.
How it was done
Suicide is a major global health challenge, and suicidal thoughts often come before attempts. Scientists wanted to see if the amount of niacin people eat from food might be linked to these thoughts, since diet can affect mental health.
They looked at survey data from 26,224 American adults aged 18 and older collected between 1999 and 2018. People reported what they ate and answered questions about whether they had thought about self-harm or death in the past two weeks. The researchers then compared niacin intake with those answers.
What it can’t tell you
- This study took a single snapshot in time, so it cannot prove that eating more niacin causes fewer suicidal thoughts.
- People reported their own diets and feelings through questionnaires, which may not always be accurate.
- The study did not measure niacin levels in the blood, so scientists do not yet know if the effect works through actual niacin levels in the body.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Wenzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the National Centre for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board, and every participant signed informed consent. The written informed consent of all subjects was obtained following the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Pingyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China; The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China
The paper
- Title
- Association between dietary niacin intake and suicidal ideation: mediating role of C-reactive protein
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Lin H, Xu J, Wang B, Ye W, Jiang X, Qu S (2025). Association between dietary niacin intake and suicidal ideation: mediating role of C-reactive protein. BMC psychiatry. doi:10.1186/s12888-025-07278-1Free full textPubMed 40859220DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error