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Two in five individuals with schizophrenia have attempted suicide

Study finds that those with schizophrenia have six times the odds of suicide attempts

Date:
February 10, 2016
Source:
University of Toronto
Summary:
Those with schizophrenia who'd been physically abused during childhood were five times more likely to have attempted suicide, a new study shows. The lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among individuals with schizophrenia was 39.2 percent compared to 2.8 percent of those without the disorder, according to the study.
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A new study by the University of Toronto (U of T), released today, found that those with schizophrenia who'd been physically abused during childhood were five times more likely to have attempted suicide.

The lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among individuals with schizophrenia was 39.2 per cent compared to 2.8 per cent of those without the disorder, according to the study.

"Even after taking into account most of the known risk factors for suicide attempts, those with schizophrenia had six times the odds of having attempted suicide in comparison to those without schizophrenia," reported lead author Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Institute for Life Course and Aging.

The study examined a representative sample of 21,744 community-dwelling Canadians, of whom 101 reported they had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Data were drawn from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.

"When we focused only on the 101 individuals with schizophrenia, we found that women and those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse and/or major depressive disorder were much more likely to have attempted suicide," said co-author Bailey Hollister, a recent U of T social work graduate.

Of particular concern, individuals with schizophrenia who reported that they had been physically abused during their childhood were five times more likely to have attempted suicide and early adversities explained 24 per cent of the variability in suicide attempts, said the authors.

"Clearly those with schizophrenia are an extremely vulnerable population. Knowledge of the added risk of suicide attempts associated with childhood abuse and substance abuse could help clinicians improve targeting and outreach to this population," said Fuller-Thomson


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Materials provided by University of Toronto. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Esme Fuller-Thomson and Bailey Hollister. Schizophrenia and Suicide Attempts: Findings from a Representative Community-Based Canadian Sample. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, February 2016 DOI: 10.1155/2016/3165243

Cite This Page:

University of Toronto. "Two in five individuals with schizophrenia have attempted suicide." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 February 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210135205.htm>.
University of Toronto. (2016, February 10). Two in five individuals with schizophrenia have attempted suicide. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210135205.htm
University of Toronto. "Two in five individuals with schizophrenia have attempted suicide." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210135205.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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