Comorbidity patterns in adolescents and young adults with suicide attempts

Abstract

The role of comorbidity as a risk for suicide attempts is investigated in a random sample of 3021 young adults aged 14-24 years. The M-CIDI, a fully standardized and modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, was used for the assessment of various DSM-IV lifetime and 12-month diagnoses as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Of all suicide attempters, 91% had at least one mental disorder, 79% were comorbid or multimorbid respectively and 45% had four or more diagnoses (only 5% in the total sample reached such high levels of comorbidity). Suicide attempters with more than three diagnoses were 18 times more likely (OR = 18.4) to attempt suicide than subjects with no diagnosis. Regarding specific diagnoses, multivariate comorbidity analyses indicated the highest risk for suicide attempt in those suffering from anxiety disorder (OR = 4.3), particularly posttraumatic stress disorder followed by substance disorder (OR = 2.2) and depressive disorder (OR = 2.1). Comorbidity, especially when anxiety disorders are involved, increases the risk for suicide attempts considerably more than any other individual DSM-IV diagnoses.

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Lifetime Suicide Attempts in the National Comorbidity Survey

“…T HE FINDING THAT comorbidity is a significant predictor of suicide attempts over and above the effects of individual disorders is consistent with many recent studies among both children 50,51 and adults. [52][53][54] While some of these earlier reports suggest a special role of particular types of comorbidity, none of them controlled rigorously for both specific individual disorders and global patterns of comorbidity (ie, number of disorders).…”

Les taux de suicide des jeunes hommes québécois : facteurs de risques et de protection

“…Bien que des associations aient été détectées entre le décrochage scolaire et les idées ou les tentatives de suicide (BEAUTRAIS et al, 1996 ;EGGERT, THOMPSON, HERTING et al, 1995 ;MAZZA et EGGERT, 2001 ;WUNDERLICH, BRONISCH et WITTCHEN, 1998), peu d'études empiriques ont confirmé ni même infirmé cette hypothèse lorsqu'il s'agit du suicide. L'étude de GOULD et al (1996) est une exception.…”

Changes in Severity of Allergy and Anxiety Symptoms Are Positively Correlated in Patients with Recurrent Mood Disorders Who Are Exposed to Seasonal Peaks of Aeroallergens

“…Comorbid anxiety further increases the risk of suicide (17), especially when comorbid with bipolar disorder (18) or depression (19)(20)(21). In fact, comorbid depression and anxiety also peaks in the spring and again in the fall, with the seasonality of comorbidity greater than that of depression alone (21).…”