A hierarchical analysis of associated factors to lifetime suicide attempts in alcohol use disorder

Substance use is strongly associated with suicide attempts (SA) throughout life. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of SA and associated factors in life in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

The sample consisted of 424 men with AUD who underwent treatment at the Addiction Psychiatry Unit of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The clinical evaluation included the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), and the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID). Variables that showed p < 0.05 in the bivariate analyses were included in a hierarchical regression model with robust variance to investigate associations with SA in life via estimation of adjusted prevalence ratios (PR).

The lifetime prevalence of SA among alcohol users was 36.6%. Patients with childhood maltreatment, borderline personality disorder (BPD), and higher impulsivity scores had a higher lifetime prevalence of SA.

Our findings indicate that male inpatient alcoholics present an important prevalence of SA. The study also corroborates the relationship between maltreatment, impulsivity, and BPD with SA among inpatients in treatment for AUD.