Sleep Apnea Linked to Increased Risk of Suicide Attempts

People who are diagnosed with sleep apnea may have an increased risk of dying by suicide, astudy in theJournal of Psychiatric Research has found. Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.Che-Sheng Chu, M.D., of Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and colleagues examined data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The researchers selected 7,095 adults aged 20 years or older who had been diagnosed with sleep apnea between 1998 and 2010 and 28,380 adults without sleep apnea who were matched based on their age, sex, and comorbidities (such as depressive disorder, diabetes, and/or substance use disorders). They then examined suicide attempts that took place during the follow-up period, which ended December 31, 2011 (all participants were followed up to at least one year after receiving a diagnosis).Adults with sleep apnea had 4.53 times the risk of carrying out a suicide attempt during the follow-up period compared with those who did not have sleep apnea, after the researchers accounted for demographic data, mental disorders, and physical comorbidities. When the researchers excluded adults with mental disorders, patients with sleep apnea had 4.23 times the risk of carrying out a suicide attempt compared with those who did not have sleep apnea.During the follow-up period, adults who had sleep apnea also had 3.86 times the risk of repeated suicide attempts compared with ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: depression diabetes disrupted sleep Journal of Psychiatric Research repeat suicide attempts sleep apnea Source Type: research