Association between psychoactive substance use and suicidal thoughts in the Colombian population during 2019

To estimate the association between psychoactive substance use and suicidal thoughts among Colombians who consumed at least one psychoactive substance in the last twelve months of 2019.

Analytical cross-sectional study. This report corresponds to a subsample of the National Survey on Psychoactive Substance Use (2019), which analyzed 27,252 individuals, habitual residents of Colombia, aged between 12 and 65 years, who reported having used at least one psychoactive substance in the past 12 months. Sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, ethnicity, marital status), the frequency of suicidal thoughts in the previous 12 months, and the use of 14 psychoactive substances during the same period (including alcohol, cigarettes, among others) were examined. For each of the 14 included substances, an independent question was asked to determine whether the respondent had used that substance in the past 12 months. Generalized linear models (family: binomial; link: log) were used to estimate the association between suicidal thoughts and the use of different psychoactive substances.

All the substances analyzed showed relationships with STs, except for alcohol and ecstasy. Notably, those who consumed coca paste (PR: 16.16, 95% CI: 10.97-23.70) and cocaine (PR: 8.72, 95% CI: 6.52-11.68) evidenced the highest associations. Finally, a directly proportional relationship was found between the number of drugs used and the likelihood of having had suicidal thoughts.

There is a strong association between the consumption of psychoactive substances and suicidal ideation in the Colombian population during 2019.