Trends in Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality: Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2009-2017

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Suicide is a leading cause of death in adolescents globally.
• Healthy People 2020 aimed to reduce suicide attempts by 10% using Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate gender's moderation of trends in adolescent depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.
• Estimate these trends stratified by gender.
• Assess if the Healthy People 2020 goal was met for males and females.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed nationally representative cross-sectional YRBS data from 2009-2017.
• Utilized R and the R survey package for analysis.
• Employed Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines, comparing additive and multiplicative interactions.

Main Results:

• Identified significant additive interactions between female gender and linear trends for depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.
• Females showed positive linear trends for all three measures, while males did not.
• Suicide attempts requiring treatment increased by 36% in females from 2009 to 2017, but decreased by 13% in males.

Conclusions:

• The Healthy People 2020 goal for reducing suicide attempts was not met by females.
• Divergent gender-specific trends underscore the need for gender-informed surveillance.
• Future research should focus on gender-specific suicide prevention strategies addressing underlying factors.