RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young adults. We investigated whether anxiety level and sleep quality were related to suicide ideation among university students. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to 1094 students at a local college. The scale for suicide Ideation, the Hospital Anxiety-Depression scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Morningness-eveningness questionnaires were used. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between these variables and suicide ideation. RESULTS: Among the 292 students who answered the suicide ideation questionnaire, 31 students had a high suicide ideation score and 261 patients had a low suicide ideation score. Demographic variables that showed significant differences between the two groups were gender, exercise, chronotype, sleep quality, depression and anxiety. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that suicidal ideation increased as the level of sleep quality decreased. There was no significant relationship between depression and suicidal ideation. Another multiple linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between sleep quality sleep related factors. This suggested the quality of sleep decreased as weekend oversleep increased. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that when anxiety was higher and the quality of sleep was lower, the more suicide ideation increased. Therefore, improving sleep quality and reducing anxiety are important strategies for reducing suicidal ideation.