Scientists said they've discovered the gene mutation that increases a person's vulnerability to suicide because of his weaker resistance to the effects of stress and anxiety.

This discovery could lead to a simple blood test to determine a person's risk of suicide and help lower suicide rates.

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"We have found a gene that we think could be really important for consistently identifying a range of behaviors from suicidal thoughts to attempts to completions," said Dr. Zachary Kaminsky, psychiatrist, behavioral scientist and lead author of the study just published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

"We need to study this in a larger sample but we believe that we might be able to monitor the blood to identify those at risk of suicide."

The study conducted by Dr. Kaminsky and his team basically showed that mutations in a gene called "SKA2" that helps cope with stress could increase the risk of suicide. 

Researchers analyzed 150 brain samples of deceased mentally ill and healthy people, including some patients that had committed suicide. They discovered all of those who had committed suicide had a mutation in SKA2.

Because of the gene's mutation, it wasn't able to "switch off" the effect of a stress hormone such as cortisol that both responds to extreme situations and performs daily tasks. 

SKA2 is expressed in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and determines how the brain reacts to stress hormones such as cortisol. 

The study noted that should the function of SKA2 be impaired by a chemical change, a person who is stressed can't shut down the effect of the stress hormone, worsening the impact of everyday stresses. It likened this event to having a faulty brake pad in a car.

Researchers then tested sets of blood samples from some 325 participants in the study to see if they could determine persons at greater risk of suicide using the same biomarker.

By looking at SKA2, they were able to guess with 80 percent to 90 percent accuracy whether a person had thoughts of suicide or made an attempt at suicide, taking into account age, gender and levels of stress or anxiety.

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death among Americans, said the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.