People Who Are Hospitalized Due To Infection Would Likely Have A Greater Risk Of Dying By Suicide

A new study indicates that people who are hospitalized because of infections or body inflammation may heighten the risk of dying by suicide. The researchers discovered that 1 in 10 suicides is associated to infection-related risk. These include HIV, AIDS or hepatitis.

The findings of the study were printed in the journal JAMA Psychiatry on August 10, 2016. The study was led by Helene Lund-Sorensen, BM, from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark and other colleagues, according to Medscape.

The researchers explained that their findings suggest that infections may have a relevant role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of suicidal behavior. They further explained that with their knowledge, this investigation is the largest study to examine infections as a predictor of death by suicide. They also emphasized that although psychiatric disorders and previous suicide attempts might constitute stronger predictors of suicide, they found that hospitalization with infection accounted for a population-attributable risk of 10.1 percent.

The researchers examined a total of 7.22 million Danish citizens aged 15 years or older living in Denmark between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2011. They were monitored during a 32-year follow-up period. They found that the overall rate of hospitalization with infection in the study population was 11.2 percent and the rate of infection among individuals who died by suicide (n-32,683) was 24.1 percent, which is about 7,892.

The study indicates that people who were hospitalized with the infection have 42 percent increased the risk for suicide death compared to those without infection. The team also discovered that the risk of suicide is greater in those with more infections and who experienced longer treatment, according to Tech Times. The longer the patients stayed in the hospital the higher the risk of committing suicide.

Patients stayed in the hospital for four days or fewer had 42 percent risk of having suicide. On the other hand, the risk heightens more when they stayed for more than 94 days. It increased to 138 percent. Meanwhile, those with single infection had 34 percent risk for committing suicide. It also indicates that those with more infections have nearly three times the risk for death by suicide. The researchers concluded that an increased risk of death by suicide was found among people hospitalized with the infection in prospective and dose-response relationships.