Alcohol abuse and suicide: a 40-year prospective study of Norwegian conscripts

Abstract

Suicide mortality among alcohol abusers and the prevalence of alcohol abusers among suicides were assessed in a 40-year follow-up study of 40,000 Norwegian military conscripts. Alcohol abuse was operationalized as either admission to alcohol treatment clinic, alcohol related cause of death, or both. The relative risk of suicide among alcohol abusers was estimated to 6.9. The relative risk of committing suicide among alcohol abusers appeared to be higher in middle age (more than 40 years) than in younger age groups (RR = 12.8 and 4.5, respectively). The life-time risk of suicide, i.e. before the age of 60 years, was estimated to 0.63% for those not categorized as alcohol abusers and 4.76% for those categorized as alcohol abusers.

Suicidal ideation in Veterans misusing alcohol: Relationships with insomnia symptoms and sleep duration

“…The association found between insomnia symptoms and suicidal ideation is consistent with prior literature in community-dwelling population (Bjorngaard et al, 2011; Goldstein et al, 2008), Veteran (Ribeiro et al, 2012), and alcohol-misusing populations (Klimkiewicz et al, 2012; Rossow & Amundsen, 1995). Difficulty falling asleep and difficulty maintaining sleep can result in extended periods of time being awake at night and thus a greater amount of time available for rumination, frustration, and catastrophic thinking.…”

“…In addition, some of our selected covariates that were associated with suicidal ideation in this final model included increasing age, inadequate finances and the presence of psychiatric disorders. Increasing age is an established risk factor for suicide especially in Veterans and in those abusing alcohol (Kemp & Bosarte, 2012; Rossow & Amundsen, 1995). Inadequate finances have been associated with suicidal ideation in prior studies involving non-Veteran and Veteran subjects (Mavandadi, Rook, Newsom, & Oslin, 2013; Meltzer et al, 2011).…”

“…In a retrospective study of 324 Veterans being treated for depression and who subsequently committed suicide, alcohol abuse or dependence was a significant risk factor (Kim et al, 2012). In a large study of Norwegian conscripts with a 40-year follow-up, alcohol abuse was significantly associated with suicide, especially for those in the middle age category (more than 40 years old), as compared to the younger age group (Rossow & Amundsen, 1995). Data from a large cohort of Swedish conscripts also showed that alcohol abusers were at increased risk for attempting and completing suicide (Rossow, Romelsjo, & Leifman, 1999).…”

Suicidal Behavior and Alcohol Abuse

“…Suicide risk among alcohol-dependent individuals has been estimated to be 7% (comparable with 6% for mood disorders; [83]). Of 40,000 Norwegian conscripts followed prospectively over 40 years, the probability of suicide was 4.76% (relative risk +6.9) among those classified as alcohol abusers compared with 0.63 for non-drinkers [84]. Similar finding have been made worldwide [85].…”

Untitled

“…Suokas and Lonnqvist [39] indicate that 62% of parasuicides are related to alcohol abuse at the time of the gesture or immediately beforehand. About 40% of the subjects being treated for a disorder due to alcohol dependence have a history of parasuicidal episodes, and about 5% of the subjects with such a disorder commit suicide [40,41]. It is also known that there is a significant association between alcoholism and depressive disorders, on the basis of which it is possible to hypothesise that the affective disorders may contribute towards determining the high incidence of suicidal behaviours among alcoholics [5].…”