Citation

Larkin G. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 44.

Affiliation

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., 75390-8579 TX, USA. gregory.larkin@utsouthwestern.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963912

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the association between medication use and suicidal ideation (SI) we enrolled a multiethnic cohort of non-psychiatric emergency department patients using a bilingual, computerized, confidential, mental health screen. Uni- and multivariate comparisons were made with chi-square and logistic regression to assess differences of proportion between ideators and non-ideators. Results: The sample of 1,590 patients was representative of the overall ED population, with 29% white, 39% African American, and 32% Hispanic ethnicity. Suicidal ideation (SI) was present in 184 (11.6%) but did not differ by age, gender, insurance status, marital status, employment status or presenting complaint, however, SI was significantly higher among non-Hispanic blacks than non-blacks (14.2% v. 9.9%; p<0.01), those with exposure to a significantly traumatic life events (21.1% vs. 6.0%; p< 0.001), those at risk of binge drinking, (15.4% vs. 10.0%; p<0.01), and those on the following medications: antipsychotics (26.9% SI), analgesics (19.4% SI), and anti-lipid agents (17.1% SI). Antidepressants were associated with SI in only 10.7%. Conclusion: The use of medications other than antidepressants was significantly associated with suicidal ideation in this multiethnic cohort of non-psychiatric ED patients.

Language: en