Patients with psychotic experiences have greater risk for suicidal behaviors

Patients with psychotic experiences were associated with more than threefold greater risk for suicide attempts and more than twofold greater risk for suicidal ideation, according to data published in JAMA Psychiatry.

“People with suicidal thoughts will often report this to their healthcare providers. A current difficulty in suicide prevention is identifying who, among this group with suicidal ideation, will go on to make an attempt. This study suggests that assessing for psychotic experiences may provide valuable information in predicting attempts,” Jordan E. DeVylder, PhD, of the School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, said in a press release.

Jordan E. DeVylder

DeVylder and colleagues used data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (2001-2003), including adult household residents (n = 11,716) with DSM-IV mental health diagnoses (ie, affective disorders, anxiety disorders and drug use disorders).

Researchers used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to determine 12-month psychotic experiences, 12-month suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Data indicated patients who reported psychotic experiences were also more likely to have concurrent suicidal ideations (OR = 5.24; 95% CI, 2.85-9.62) and suicide attempts (OR = 9.48; 95% CI, 3.98-22.62).

Patients with psychotic experiences were more likely to make an attempt during the concurrent 12-month period (OR = 3.49; 95% CI, 1.05-11.58), when considering severity of suicidality and psychiatric disorders, according to data.

Conversely, those with depressive (OR = 1.67; 95% CI, 0.62-4.52), anxiety (OR = 1.57; 95% CI, 0.40-6.09), and substance use disorders (OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 0.24-11.17) were not predictive of attempts among those with ideations, the researchers wrote.

They also observed a mean prevalence of 47.4% for suicide attempts among patients with ideations and psychotic experiences, compared with 18.9% in those with only ideation and a disorder.

DeVylder and colleagues determined that assessing psychotic experiences in patients with suicidal ideation may help identify and reduce the prevalence of suicide attempts. – by Samantha Costa

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.