Suicidal ideation and attempts in population-based samples of women: temporal changes between 1989 and 2015

Lövestad, Solveig; Löve, Jesper; Vaez, Marjan; Wærn, Margda; Hensing, Gunnel; Krantz, Gunilla

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6685-5

Cited by 28 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…It is unclear whether this is due to a general increase in suicidal ideation, given that many of the included prevalence studies are at least ten years old. The high level of suicidal ideation in women and younger age groups is in line with research reporting an alarming increasing trend in suicidal ideation in young and middle-aged women (31). Another possible explanation is that suicidal ideation might be especially high in Belgium.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

The sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

Rens

Portzky

Morrens

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Suicidal ideation, or thinking about death and suicide, is common across all layers of society. The aim of this paper is to add to the understanding of suicidal ideation in the general population, as well as help-seeking behaviors and perceived unmet mental health needs among those who report suicidal thoughts. Methods The research is part of a representative population-based survey study of mental wellbeing in Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium) carried out in 2021. A total of 1202 participants between 15 and 80 years old answered the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ), and an additional question about suicide plans. Participation was by invitation only and possible online or via a postal paper questionnaire. Univariate logistic regression analyses examined the association between both current suicidal ideation and self-reported lifetime suicide attempt, and the sociodemographic factors age, gender, educational level, origin and financial distress. Moreover, formal care use for mental health was examined among those experiencing suicidal ideation, and logistic regression analyses were used to assess sociodemographic risk factors. Finally, perceived unmet mental health needs were assessed among suicide ideators. Results The point-prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.6% and was higher among younger age groups and individuals reporting financial distress. The lifetime-prevalence of suicide attempts is 6.5% and was lower in the oldest age group and individuals with a secondary or higher education and without financial distress. About half (45.6%) of those with suicidal ideation consulted a professional for mental health problems in the past twelve months. Men and individuals with a primary educational level were less likely to seek help. Half of suicide ideators without care use perceived some need for mental health care, and a third of suicide ideators who used care perceived the obtained help as insufficient, resulting in a population prevalence of 3.6% suicide ideators with a fully or partially perceived unmet need. Conclusions The prevalence of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and unmet needs among suicide-ideators is high in this Belgian sample. Mental health care need perception in suicide ideators needs further investigation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

The sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

Rens

Portzky

Morrens

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is unclear whether this is due to a general increase in suicidal ideation, given that many of the included prevalence studies are at least ten years old. The high level of suicidal ideation in women and younger age groups is in line with research reporting an alarming increasing trend in suicidal ideation in young and middle-aged women [ 36 ]. Another possible explanation is that suicidal ideation might be especially high in Belgium.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

An exploration of suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

Rens,

Portzky,

Morrens

et al. 2023

BMC Public Health

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Background Suicidal ideation, or thinking about death and suicide, is common across all layers of society. The aim of this paper is to add to the understanding of suicidal ideation in the general population, as well as help-seeking behaviors and perceived unmet mental health needs among those who report suicidal thoughts. Methods The research is part of a representative population-based survey study of mental wellbeing in Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium) carried out in 2021. A total of 1202 participants between 15 and 80 years old answered the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ), and an additional question about suicide plans. Participation was by invitation only and possible online or via a postal paper questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between both current suicidal ideation and self-reported lifetime suicide attempt with the sociodemographic factors age, gender, educational level, origin and financial distress. Moreover, formal care use for mental health was examined among those experiencing suicidal ideation, and logistic regression analyses were used to assess associated sociodemographic factors. Finally, perceived unmet mental health needs were assessed among suicide ideators. Results The point-prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.6% and was higher among younger age groups and individuals reporting financial distress. The lifetime-prevalence of suicide attempts is 6.5% and was higher in younger people and individuals with a primary educational level and with financial distress. About half (45.6%) of those with suicidal ideation consulted a professional for mental health problems in the past twelve months. Men and those with a primary educational level were less likely to seek help. Half of suicide ideators without care use perceived some need for mental health care, and a third of suicide ideators who used care perceived the obtained help as insufficient, resulting in a population prevalence of 3.6% suicide ideators with a fully or partially perceived unmet need. Conclusions The prevalence of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and unmet needs among suicide-ideators is high in this Belgian sample. Mental health care need perception in suicide ideators needs further investigation.

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“…This was contrary to our hypothesis that an association between mental health and education would exist among unemployed females only, thus demonstrating the importance of considering sex and employment status together when assessing this relationship. As the required qualifications for employment increase overtime, unemployed individuals with higher education might find security in their favourable employment prospects [ 50 , 51 ], regardless of sex, which could be protective against depressive symptoms. However, the association between depressive symptoms and education became non-significant in both sexes after removal of those who were not working due to disability or health-related reasons from analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreased odds of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation with higher education, depending on sex and employment status

Tassone,

Duffy,

Dunnett

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Background Higher education is associated with reduced depressive symptoms and requires investment without guaranteed employment. It remains unclear how sex and employment status together contribute to the association between mental health and educational attainment. This study investigated the role of sex and employment status together in the associations of 1) depressive symptoms and 2) suicidal ideation with education. Methods Using 2005–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, cross-sectional analyses were conducted on individuals ≥20 years who completed the depression questionnaire and reported their employment status and highest level of education. Survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore how depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are associated with educational attainment in an analysis stratified by sex and employment status. To account for multiple testing, a significance level of a < 0.01 was used. Results Participants (n = 23,669) had a weighted mean age of 43.25 (SD = 13.97) years and 47% were female. Employed females (aOR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.32, 0.69), unemployed females (aOR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.29, 0.75), and unemployed males (aOR = 0.31, 95% CI 0.17, 0.56) with college education had reduced odds of depressive symptoms compared to those with high school education. Employed females with college education also had reduced suicidal ideation odds compared to those with high school education (aOR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.22, 0.76). Conclusions Females demonstrated significant associations between depressive symptoms and education, regardless of employment status, whereas males demonstrated an association only if unemployed. Employed females, in particular, demonstrated a significant association between suicidal ideation and education. These findings may inform future research investigating the underlying mechanisms and etiology of these sex-employment status differences in the association between mental health and education.

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Suicidal ideation and attempts in population-based samples of women: temporal changes between 1989 and 2015

Cited by 28 publications

References 45 publications

The sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

The sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

An exploration of suicidal ideation and attempts, and care use and unmet need among suicide-ideators in a Belgian population study

Decreased odds of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation with higher education, depending on sex and employment status

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