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Risk for attempted suicide six times higher in adults with schizophrenia

Risk for attempted suicide was six times higher among noninstitutionalized individuals with schizophrenia compared with those without the disorder, according to recent findings.

“Even after taking into account most of the known risk factors for suicide attempts, those with schizophrenia had six times the odds of having attempted suicide in comparison to those without schizophrenia,” Esme Fuller-Thomson, PhD, of the University of Toronto, said in a press release.

Researchers assessed factors associated with suicide attempts among noninstitutionalized Canadian individuals with schizophrenia (n = 101) and without schizophrenia (n = 21,643).

Lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts was 39.2% among individuals with schizophrenia vs. 2.8% among those without schizophrenia.

When adjusting for sociodemographics, childhood adversities, substance abuse/dependence, depression and anxiety and chronic pain, individuals with schizophrenia were six times more likely to attempt suicide (OR = 6.47) than those without the disorder.

Among individuals with schizophrenia, suicide attempts were associated with female gender (OR = 4.59), substance abuse/dependence (OR = 6.31), depression (OR = 4.93) and childhood physical abuse (OR = 5.75).

“Clearly those with schizophrenia are an extremely vulnerable population. Knowledge of the added risk of suicide attempts associated with childhood abuse and substance abuse could help clinicians improve targeting and outreach to this population,” Fuller-Thomson said. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.