Suicide Risk Screening in a Diverse Cohort of Youth With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction: Depression and suicide are more prevalent in adolescents with chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Psychosocial assessment is recommended in routine diabetes care. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of suicide risk in youth with diabetes and to determine the utility of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Item 9 compared to the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ). Methods: The PHQ-9 and ASQ were prospectively administered to patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), ages 11-24 years at routine diabetes visits at a pediatric diabetes center from January to December 2023. Depression and suicide risk were assessed using PHQ-9 Item 9 and ASQ. The sensitivity and specificity of PHQ-9 were determined using ASQ as the reference standard. Results: Among the 309 patients included in this study, 237 (76.6%) had T1D and 72 (23.3%) had T2D. The mean age was 15.1 ± 2.6 years, 145 (46.9%) were female, and the mean HbA1c was 8.6% ± 2.3%. The prevalence of suicide risk using PHQ-9 Item 9 was 5.9% in T1D and 12.5% in T2D, and 8.4% in T1D and 19.4% in T2D, using ASQ. The sensitivity of the PHQ-9 Item 9 was 55.9% (95% CI: 37.9, 72.8%), specificity was 98.5% (95% CI: 96.3, 99.6%), PPV was 82.6% (95% CI: 61.2, 95%), and NPV was 94.8% (95% CI: 91.5, 97%) as compared to ASQ as reference standard. After a positive suicide risk screen, only 52.9% completed mental health follow-up at 1 month. The feasibility survey showed providers could identify high risk patients without workflow impact. Conclusion: Prevalence of suicide risk is higher in youth with T2D compared to T1D. PHQ-9 is less sensitive in identifying suicide risk in adolescents and young adults (AYA) compared to the ASQ. Diabetes care teams should consider using a specific suicide risk screener in routine diabetes care. Follow-up with mental health is suboptimal, and should be encouraged.