Expert available to discuss Williams’ apparent suicide

BUFFALO, N.Y. – “People with alcohol and drug addictions are at greater risk for depression and suicide, even when they’re in recovery,” says Richard D. Blondell, MD, vice chair of addiction medicine and professor of family medicine at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

“We don’t know why that’s the case, but it’s possible that the genes that predispose individuals to addiction may also predispose them to mood disorders,” Blondell says.

An expert in addiction medicine, Blondell directs the National Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine, established last year by the American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation (ABAMF), thanks to a $2 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Blondell, a physician who sees patients through UBMD, founded the UB Department of Family Medicine’s addiction fellowship, one of 19 postgraduate addiction medicine residencies in the U.S. In addition to his expertise in addiction medicine education, Blondell studies alcoholism and the relationship between chronic pain and addiction.