Sexual violence, mood disorders and suicide risk: a population-based study

This article seeks to analyze the association between sexual violence, manic and depressive episodes, and suicide risk among young adults. This is a cross-sectional population-based study carried out with young people between 18 and 24 years of age in a town in southern Brazil. The sample was selected through clusters. The prevalence of sexual violence, manic, depressive and mixed episodes and suicide risk were evaluated, as well as the association between them. The chi-square test and Poisson regression were used for statistical analysis. The study sample comprised 1,560 subjects. Among these, 3.1% had suffered sexual violence at some point in their life. The prevalence of depressive, mixed episodes, and (hypo)manic episodes were 10%, 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Suicide risk had a prevalence of 8.6% in the total sample. Young people who have suffered sexual violence are more likely to be subject to mood changes or suicide risk than those who have not (p < 0.05), except for the occurrence of (hypo)manic episodes. These results revealed a strong association between sexual violence and depressive and mixed episodes and suicide risk.