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Increased burden of cardiovascular risk among youth suicide attempters

Yongqi Zhong1,2, Steven Pham3, Giovanna Porta4

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Psychological Medicine
|October 19, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Young adults who attempt suicide have a higher cardiovascular risk burden than other high-risk groups. This highlights the need for clinicians to monitor cardiovascular health in suicide attempters to prevent adverse events.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychiatry
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Suicide and cardiovascular disease are leading causes of premature mortality globally.
  • Young adult suicide attempters exhibit higher cardiovascular disease mortality risk than those with major depressive disorder.
  • This suggests a greater burden of cardiovascular risk factors among young suicide attempters.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the cardiovascular risk burden in youth suicide attempters versus other high-risk individuals.
  • To identify specific cardiovascular risk factors in young adults with a history of suicide attempts.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) and an inpatient psychiatric sample.
  • Included participants aged 15-30 years with varying histories of suicide attempt (SA), suicidal ideation (SI), or no psychiatric history.
  • Calculated cardiovascular risk scores and classified individuals into high- and low-risk groups based on blood pressure, obesity, and smoking.

Main Results:

  • Suicide attempters demonstrated significantly higher cardiovascular risk scores compared to controls in both population-based and inpatient samples.
  • Youth suicide attempters were more likely to be in the high cardiovascular risk category than individuals with only suicidal ideation.
  • The increased risk was evident across different sample types, indicating a consistent pattern.

Conclusions:

  • Youth suicide attempters face a disproportionately high cardiovascular risk burden compared to other high-risk groups.
  • Clinicians must prioritize screening and management of cardiovascular risk factors in all suicide attempters.
  • Addressing these risks is crucial for reducing premature mortality from cardiovascular events in this vulnerable population.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cardiovascular riskhigh blood pressureobesitysmokingsuicidal ideationsuicide attempt

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