THE PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF SUICIDAL TENDENCIES IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE MOOD DISORDERS: A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
Main Article Content
Keywords
Suicidal Tendencies, Mood Disorders, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Quantitative Study, Suicide Predictors, Mental Health.
Abstract
Background: Suicidal behavior is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death among individuals with severe mood disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Understanding the prevalence and predictors of suicidal tendencies in this population is essential for effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Objective: To examine the prevalence of suicidal tendencies and identify key demographic and clinical predictors among patients diagnosed with severe mood disorders using a quantitative research approach.
Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted involving 300 patients diagnosed with MDD or BD from three psychiatric hospitals from Quetta AJK and Peshawar of Pakistan. Data were collected using standardized instruments including the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Statistical analyses involved descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression to identify significant predictors of suicidal tendencies.
Results: Among the participants, 47.3% exhibited moderate to high suicidal ideation. Significant predictors of suicidal tendencies included high depression severity (p < .001), history of previous suicide attempts (p = .002), comorbid substance use (p = .014), and low social support (p = .006). Demographic variables such as age, gender, and diagnosis type were not significant predictors after adjusting for clinical variables.
Conclusion: The study highlights a high prevalence of suicidal tendencies among individuals with severe mood disorders. Clinical factors such as depression severity, prior suicide attempts, substance use, and social support levels are more critical predictors than demographic variables. These findings emphasize the need for comprehensive suicide risk assessments and targeted interventions in psychiatric care settings.
References
2. Baldessarini, R. J., Forte, A., Selle, V., Centorrino, F., & Tondo, L. (2019). Morbidity risk following first hospitalization for bipolar disorder: A 10-year follow-up. Journal of Affective Disorders, 257, 237–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.020
3. Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Ranieri, W. F. (1988). Scale for Suicide Ideation: Psychometric properties of a self-report version. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(4), 499–505. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(198807)44:4<499::AID-JCLP2270440404>3.0.CO;2-6
4. Brent, D. A., & Mann, J. J. (2005). Family genetic studies, suicide, and suicidal behavior. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics, 133C(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.c.30042
5. Brown, G. K., Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Grisham, J. R. (2000). Risk factors for suicide in psychiatric outpatients: A 20-year prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(3), 371–377. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.3.371
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Suicide data and statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html
7. Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2014). Alcohol misuse and suicidal behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 76(1), S37–S46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2004.05.007
8. Gonda, X., Pompili, M., Serafini, G., Montebovi, F., Campi, S., Dome, P., & Rihmer, Z. (2012). Suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder: Epidemiology, characteristics and major risk factors. Journal of Affective Disorders, 143(1-3), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.04.041
9. Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 23(1), 56–62. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56
10. Hawton, K., Casañas, I., Comabella, C., Haw, C., & Saunders, K. (2015). Risk factors for suicide in individuals with depression: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 147(1–3), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.004
11. Joiner, T. E. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Harvard University Press.
12. Kessler, R. C., Borges, G., & Walters, E. E. (1999). Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56(7), 617–626. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.56.7.617
13. Klonsky, E. D., & May, A. M. (2014). The Three-Step Theory (3ST): A new theory of suicide rooted in the "ideation-to-action" framework. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 7(2), 114–129. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2014.7.2.114
14. Mann, J. J. (2003). Neurobiology of suicidal behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4(10), 819–828. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1220
15. McIntyre, R. S., & O'Donovan, C. (2004). The human cost of not achieving remission in depression. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(10), 21S–27S. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370404901005
16. Nock, M. K., Hwang, I., Sampson, N. A., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). Mental disorders, comorbidity and suicidal behavior: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Molecular Psychiatry, 15, 868–876. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2009.29
17. Oquendo, M. A., Galfalvy, H., Russo, S., Ellis, S. P., Grunebaum, M. F., Burke, A., & Mann, J. J. (2004). Prospective study of clinical predictors of suicidal acts after a major depressive episode in patients with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(8), 1433–1441. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.8.1433
18. Pompili, M., Innamorati, M., Serafini, G., Gonda, X., Rihmer, Z., Sher, L., & Girardi, P. (2013). Suicide risk in mood disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 15, 388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0388-8
19. Ribeiro, J. D., Huang, X., Fox, K. R., & Franklin, J. C. (2018). Depression and hopelessness as risk factors for suicide ideation, attempts, and death: Meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 66–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.10.036
20. Rihmer, Z., & Kiss, K. (2002). Bipolar disorders and suicide risk. Bipolar Disorders, 4(Suppl. 1), 21–25. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1399-5618.2002.00003.x
21. Sareen, J., Cox, B. J., Afifi, T. O., de Graaf, R., Asmundson, G. J., ten Have, M., & Stein, M. B. (2005). Anxiety disorders and risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: A population-based longitudinal study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(11), 1249–1257. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.11.1249
22. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). https://www.samhsa.gov/data
23. Tondo, L., Isacsson, G., & Baldessarini, R. J. (2003). Suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder: Risk and prevention. CNS Drugs, 17(7), 491–511. https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200317070-00002
24. Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S. R., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018697
25. World Health Organization. (2021). Suicide worldwide in 2019: Global health estimates. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026643
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Dr. Zain Ullah Khan
Associate Professor, Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (BIPBS), Quetta, Pakistan,
Dr. Ali Ahsan Mufti
Professor and Head of Psychiatry, Jinnah Medical College, Peshawar; Consultant Psychiatrist, Ibadat Hospital & Horizon NGO for Mental Health, Pakistan
Dr. Shakil Asif
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Mirpur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan
Dr. Bilal Shahid
Postgraduate Resident, Psychiatry, Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (BIPBS), Quetta, Pakistan
Prof. Dr. Raz Muhammad Kakar
Head of Department, Neurosurgery, Bolan Medical College Hospital (BMCH); Principal, Bolan Medical College (BMC), Quetta, Pakistan
Dr. Azra Tabassum
MD Psychiatry; Consultant Psychiatrist, Lady Medical Officer, Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, Quetta, Pakistan
Sana Ullah Kakar
Balochistan Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (BIPBS), Quetta, Pakistan