Citation

Miché M, Hofer PD, Voss C, Meyer AH, Gloster AT, Beesdo-Baum K, Wittchen HU, Lieb R. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2020; 29(2): 179-186.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00787-019-01335-3

PMID

31054127

Abstract

Traumatic events (TEs) have been associated with suicide attempts (SAs). However, the empirical status of some TEs is inconclusive. This also concerns community adolescents and young adults, known to be a high-risk group for SAs. We examined associations between (a) a range of prior TEs (physical attack, rape/sexual abuse, serious accident, and witnessing somebody else experiencing a TE) and a subsequent SA, and (b) the number of prior TEs and an SA, and (c) we estimated attributable proportions of SAs, in relation to each TE. Over a 10-year period, the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) study prospectively assessed community members, aged 14-24 years at baseline. Starting with 3021 subjects, each individual was assessed up to four times. Assessment was based on the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Temporal associations were estimated using the Cox model with time-dependent covariates. Attributable proportions were based on the results of the Cox models. All four TEs elevated the risk for a subsequent SA, adjusting for confounders. Highest risk was found for the combined TE rape/sexual abuse.

RESULTS showed that 56-90% of SAs could be attributed to TEs in the exposed group; on the population level, attributable proportions ranged between 6.9% and 23.5%. Different TEs have been shown to elevate the risk of an SA in a young community sample. Our results suggest that both health professionals and health policy decision-makers consider specific TEs and the number of prior TEs as risk factors for SAs.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Risk Factors; Adult; Female; Male; Adolescent; Young Adult; Suicide, Attempted; Longitudinal Studies; Suicide attempt; Community sample; Traumatic event; Prospective design; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Adolescents and young adults; Attributable fraction