Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study
Abstract Background Many psychiatric and somatic comorbidities increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but the effect of co-existing comorbidities is sparsely elucidated. We described co-existence of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities and the influence of the combined comorbidity burden on the ri...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933824017814/type/journal_article |
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| author | Mette Reilev Jens-Jakob Kjer Møller Elsebeth Stenager Erik Christiansen |
| author_facet | Mette Reilev Jens-Jakob Kjer Møller Elsebeth Stenager Erik Christiansen |
| author_sort | Mette Reilev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract
Background
Many psychiatric and somatic comorbidities increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but the effect of co-existing comorbidities is sparsely elucidated. We described co-existence of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities and the influence of the combined comorbidity burden on the risk of suicidal behavior.
Methods
We defined two case populations above 10 years in the Danish health registries: those who 1) died by suicide (2010–2020) and 2) had an incident suicide attempt (2010–2021). Co-existing somatic and psychiatric comorbidities and relative odds of suicidal behavior at increasing comorbidity burden were assessed.
Results
Among 5.9 million Danish citizens (2021), 6,257 individuals died by suicide whereas 30,570 had an incident suicide attempt. More than half had ≥2 co-existing psychiatric and/or somatic comorbidities. Of those who died by suicide, 18% had co-existing mood disorders and stress disorders, while 5% had both mood disorders and cancer. An 88-fold increase of odds for attempting suicide and a 35-fold increase of odds for suicide were observed among those with the highest combined burden of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities relative to those without. The presence of somatic comorbidities seemed to protect against suicide in older individuals.
Conclusions
Psychiatric and somatic comorbidities commonly co-exist in individuals with suicidal behavior. Higher combined burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities increased the odds of suicidal behavior, though the presence of somatic diseases had a potential protective effect on the risk of suicide in older individuals. This warrants collaboration and enhanced awareness of suicidal behavior risks across somatic and psychiatric departments.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-95fb5a3e66484b7aa11dc23608be311c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-95fb5a3e66484b7aa11dc23608be311c2025-02-07T05:43:33ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852025-01-016810.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.1781Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational studyMette Reilev0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1241-4385Jens-Jakob Kjer Møller1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8771-4940Elsebeth Stenager2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4752-3648Erik Christiansen3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3562-9506Centre for Suicide Research, Odense, Denmark Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy, and Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark The Research Unit in Psychiatry – Child and Adults, Psychiatry in the Region of Southern Denmark, Aabenraa, DenmarkOPEN – Open Patient Data Explorative Network, Odense University Hospital, Odense, DenmarkThe Research Unit in Psychiatry – Child and Adults, Psychiatry in the Region of Southern Denmark, Aabenraa, DenmarkCentre for Suicide Research, Odense, Denmark The Research Unit in Psychiatry – Child and Adults, Psychiatry in the Region of Southern Denmark, Aabenraa, DenmarkAbstract Background Many psychiatric and somatic comorbidities increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but the effect of co-existing comorbidities is sparsely elucidated. We described co-existence of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities and the influence of the combined comorbidity burden on the risk of suicidal behavior. Methods We defined two case populations above 10 years in the Danish health registries: those who 1) died by suicide (2010–2020) and 2) had an incident suicide attempt (2010–2021). Co-existing somatic and psychiatric comorbidities and relative odds of suicidal behavior at increasing comorbidity burden were assessed. Results Among 5.9 million Danish citizens (2021), 6,257 individuals died by suicide whereas 30,570 had an incident suicide attempt. More than half had ≥2 co-existing psychiatric and/or somatic comorbidities. Of those who died by suicide, 18% had co-existing mood disorders and stress disorders, while 5% had both mood disorders and cancer. An 88-fold increase of odds for attempting suicide and a 35-fold increase of odds for suicide were observed among those with the highest combined burden of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities relative to those without. The presence of somatic comorbidities seemed to protect against suicide in older individuals. Conclusions Psychiatric and somatic comorbidities commonly co-exist in individuals with suicidal behavior. Higher combined burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities increased the odds of suicidal behavior, though the presence of somatic diseases had a potential protective effect on the risk of suicide in older individuals. This warrants collaboration and enhanced awareness of suicidal behavior risks across somatic and psychiatric departments. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933824017814/type/journal_articlecomorbidity burdenepidemiologysuicide research |
| spellingShingle | Mette Reilev Jens-Jakob Kjer Møller Elsebeth Stenager Erik Christiansen Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study European Psychiatry comorbidity burden epidemiology suicide research |
| title | Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study |
| title_full | Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study |
| title_fullStr | Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study |
| title_short | Burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior: a nationwide Danish registry-based, observational study |
| title_sort | burden of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in individuals with suicidal behavior a nationwide danish registry based observational study |
| topic | comorbidity burden epidemiology suicide research |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933824017814/type/journal_article |
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