Obsessive-compulsive disorder and suicide: a longitudinal study in Taiwan

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is linked to suicidal ideation and attempts.
• The specific risk of death by suicide in individuals with OCD requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if individuals with OCD have a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population.
• To investigate the association between OCD and suicide mortality.

Main Methods:

• A population-based cohort study in Taiwan (2003-2017).
• 56,977 individuals with OCD were matched with 227,908 controls.
• Time-dependent Cox regression models analyzed suicide risk.

Main Results:

• Individuals with OCD exhibited a 1.97 times higher risk of suicide (HR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.57-2.48) after adjusting for comorbidities.
• OCD severity, indicated by hospitalizations, correlated positively with suicide risk.
• OCD was an independent risk factor for suicide mortality.

Conclusions:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an independent predictor of death by suicide.
• This finding holds true irrespective of major psychiatric comorbidities.
• Future clinical practice may benefit from developing suicide prevention programs tailored for individuals with OCD.