Young people with asthma, diabetes and Crohn’s disease are three times more likely to attempt suicide, a study reveals.
An analysis on data from 5,000 people aged 15 to 30 revealed mental illness is far higher among those with chronic illnesses.
Experts say it is likely due to a lack of access to psychiatric care to help young people deal with their illnesses.
The researchers urge public health officials to see these results as a red flag to prioritize treatment for physical symptoms as a way to lower the suicide rates among teens and young adults.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and teens in the US.
Experts say that chronic illnesses can increase a young person’s chance of attempting suicide. The study looked at people ages 15 to 30 and assessed their suicidal risk (file photo)
Researchers from the University of Waterloo studied people ages 15 to 30 who were dealing with a chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes or Crohn’s disease.
They looked at more than 5,000 people in that age group for a year and measured how often they had suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts.
The study found that these illnesses increased a young person’s odds of suicidal thoughts by 28 percent and plans to die by suicide by 134 percent.
Having a chronic condition increases the odds of a suicide attempt by 363 percent.
‘Evidence suggests risk for suicide attempts is highest soon after young people are diagnosed with a chronic illness,’ said Professor Mark Ferro, lead author of the study from Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. ‘There is a critical window of opportunity for prevention and continued monitoring.’
Researchers say the results show a lack psychiatric help for patients that are dealing with chronic diseases, especially those that are younger and more vulnerable to mental illnesses.
This graph is from recent CDC data showing the rate of suicide and homicidal deaths among people of different age groups
Ferro said: ‘Having a chronic illness may increase the risk for the development of psychiatric disorder, which in turn, increases risk for suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts.’
The findings suggest the need for healthcare providers to consider a correlation between people with these illnesses and psychiatric problems.
‘Having both a chronic illness and psychiatric disorder has a compounding effect, further increasing the odds of suicidal thoughts,’ Ferro said.
Suicide rates among people ages 15 to 19 have increased, according to a recent CDC report.
The report said that suicide rates have doubled from 2007 to 2015.
The researchers of the study think that suicide rates could significantly decrease if psychiatric care for those dealing with chronic illness was improved.