Recurrent suicidal ideation in young adults

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Recurrent suicidal ideation (SI) may be linked to an increased risk of making suicide plans and suicide attempts. The objectives were to describe the frequency of SI recurrence in a population-based sample of young adults, and to compare mental health diagnoses, substance use, use of health services and medication use among those with and without recurrent SI.METHODS: Data were collected from 785 participants at age 20 years and again at age 24. Chi-square tests were used to compare participants with and without recurrent SI. RESULTS:Of 56 participants who reported SI at age 20, 32% reported SI four years later. Thirty-nine percent of participants with recurrent SI reported poor mental health compared to 8% of participants who never reported SI; 11% (vs. 4%) had sought professional help, 44% (vs. 8%) had been diagnosed with a mood and/or anxiety disorder, and 22% (vs. 2%) had taken medication for a mental health problem. Past-year substance use was higher among those with recurrent SI than among those with no SI: 67% vs. 42% smoked cigarettes, 56% vs. 39% used other tobacco products, 89% vs. 74% binge drank, 56% vs. 42% used marijuana and 33% vs. 17% reported using illicit drugs. CONCLUSION:One third of young adults with a history of SI reported SI four years later. Because SI can recur, clinicians should monitor young adults with a history of SI, assess their substance use and mood/anxiety disorders and if needed, refer them for psychological or psychiatric care.KEY WORDS: Longitudinal studies; suicidal ideation; young adult La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

Suicide mortality among youth in southern Brazil: a spatiotemporal evaluation of socioeconomic vulnerability

“…In fact, studies focusing on adolescent and young-adult populations have found that, unlike other age groups, young people have an increased risk of suicide due to depression, 12 frequent experiences of bullying, 13 belonging to marginalized groups, 14 and substance use or mood disorders. 15 Given the known spatial association of suicide rates with socioeconomic deprivation, and the fact that youth have unique risk factors for suicide which also are impacted by socioeconomic status, evaluating and understanding the spatiotemporal variance of suicide clusters can support public policies.…”

A four‐year longitudinal study examining psychache and suicide ideation in elevated‐risk undergraduates: A test of Shneidman's model of suicidal behavior

“…Suicide ideation refers to thoughts about killing oneself, ranging from wishing to be dead to developing a plan to kill oneself (Kessler et al, 1999;Lewinsohn, Rohde, & Seeley, 1996). Suicide ideation is prevalent among adolescents and young adults (Harkavy-Friedman, Asnis, Boeck, & DiFiore, 1987;Wilcox et al, 2010) and can be more than a transient phenomenon in that 32% of young adults with suicidal ideation report being suicide ideators 4 years later (Dugas, Low, O'Loughlin, & O'Loughlin, 2015). A large number of university students ideate about suicide, which warrants suicide ideation as a legitimate area, in and of itself, and as a concern for this population.…”

Coexistence of Substance Abuse among Emergency Department Patients Presenting with Suicidal Ideation

“…Roughly half of the study population had multiple psychiatric diagnoses, and over one-third of patients had a history of at least one prior suicide attempt. Other studies have also found frequent recurrence of suicidal ideation and attempts, with a higher likelihood in patients with concomitant substance abuse [ 22 , 23 ]. This data highlights the need for ongoing care and the potentially recurrent nature of psychiatric illness in patients with suicidal thoughts and substance abuse.…”

“…These encounters only include visits to our facility and do not account for possible visits to other facilities. A previous study found that 14% of the patients with an ED visit for mental health or substance abuse had a return visit to the ED or hospitalization within 30 days, particularly for older adults [ 22 ]. Other studies have similarly reported that patients with both a psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses had significantly higher ED utilization [ 14 , 24 – 26 ].…”