Risk factors for attempted suicide in non-psychotic patients with suicidal ideation

In Eastern European countries, suicide rate are among the highest in the world and suicide attempts are among the most important risk factors. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with suicide attempt (SA) in non-psychotic patients with suicidal ideation (SI).

Among 6204 consecutive adult patients (residents of Moscow) with non-psychotic mental disorders (NPMD), 361 individuals aged 18-77 years (median 24 years) were enrolled in the study after screening for lifetime SI with the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI). All participants were assessed for sociodemographic variables, psychiatric diagnosis, family history of mental disorders, history of abuse, sexual behavior, psychiatric treatments, suicide plan, SA, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Results of multivariable analyses (MV) are presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

166 patients (46%) reported lifetime SA. In MV, variables associated with SA included smoking (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2-3.7), having made a suicide plan (OR 3.4; 95% CI 2.0-5.7), and scars covered by tattoos (OR 5.2; 95% CI 1.5-17.9). History of law violation (OR 2.0; 95% 1.0-4.2) was of borderline significance.

Transition from SI to SA in patients with NPMD was associated with smoking, suicide planning, history of law violation and presence of tattoos covering scars.