The journal Psychosomatic Medicine has published the results of research into possible associations between chronic physical illness and later suicidal ideation and non-fatal suicide attempts.
The study was conducted on the basis of data from 38,000 respondents from 14 western and non-western countries that participate in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. The latter is a worldwide psychiatric-epidemiological study conducted in the general population, including in the Netherlands. The same questionnaire was used in all the participating countries.
In the Netherlands, the project was managed by the Trimbos Institute and the University of Groningen.
The results showed that most chronic, somatic conditions were associated with a risk of suicidal thoughts, and a smaller number were associated with suicide attempts.
The strongest association was found with epilepsy. Early onset of the physical illness was a strong indicator of the onset of suicidality. And the greater the number of physical conditions reported, the greater the risk of suicidality.
Even after correcting for mental disorders, the associations remained. This means that the existence of a physical illness is a risk factor for suicidality, even in the absence of a psychiatric disorder.
Scott KM, Hwang I, Chiu WT, Kessler RC, Sampson NA, Angermeyer M, Beautrais A, Borges G, Bruffaerts R, Graaf R de, Florescu S, Fukao A, Haro JM, Hu C, Kovess V, Levinson D, Posada-Villa J, Scocco P, Nock MK. Chronic physical conditions and their association with first onset of suicidal behavior in the World Mental Health Surveys. Psychosom Med 2010; 72: 712-9.
For more information, contact: Ron de Graaf
