according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prevalence of suicidal ideation in 2015 was significantly higher among female students (25.5% vs. 13.7% for males), nonwhite students (23.4% vs. 18.7% for whites), those who were less religious (27.4% vs. 16.1% for religious students), and nonmembers of the Church of Latter Day Saints (27.1% vs. 15.3% for Mormons), Marissa L. Zwald, PhD, of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and her associates reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Risk factors included being bullied on school property in the previous year (adjusted odds ratios 1.95 for suicidal ideation and 2.17 for a suicide attempt, compared with those who were not bullied) and being electronically bullied (AOR of 1.82 for suicidal ideation and 1.71 for suicide attempt). Students who reported illicit substance use in the past month were more likely than nonusers to have suicidal ideation (AOR, 1.93) and to make a suicide attempt (AOR, 1.9); past-month use of tobacco, including e-cigarettes, increased risk, compared with no use, with an adjusted odds ratios of 1.54 for suicidal ideation and 1.7 for an attempt, the investigators reported.
They also looked at a number of possible protective factors, with a supportive family environment showing significance for both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts; the same was not true for prosocial behaviors or supportive community, school, or peer environments. “Possible prevention strategies to consider could include integrating family members and the home setting into existing or new interventions and identifying and addressing the needs of youths exhibiting risk factors identified in this investigation,” Dr. Zwald and her associates wrote.
SOURCE: Zwald ML et al. MMWR. 2018 Apr 20;67(15):451-4.