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Alcohol use, insomnia related to suicide risk

Researchers discovered a link between alcohol use and suicide risk in university students with insomnia symptoms, according to data published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Michael Nadorff, PhD, assistant professor at Mississippi State University, and colleagues also found that alcohol use was significantly associated with suicide risk among women in particular.

Michael Nadorff

They administered online questionnaires to 375 undergraduate students at the university, and found that insomnia symptoms and alcohol use were significantly associated with suicide risk (P<.01). There was no significant association found between nightmares, alcohol use and suicide risk.

“These results are important as they help demonstrate that alcohol use is associated with an increase in suicide risk, and that this increase may be partially due to insomnia symptoms,” Nadorff said in a press release. “By better understanding this relationship, and the mechanisms associated with increased risk, we can better design interventions to reduce suicide risk.”

The researchers suggest additional research to investigate this relationship.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.