Factors associated with suicide attempt among youth: A retrospective review of psychiatric inpatients 15-24 years old admitted for suicidalIdeation and behavior at The Medical City (TMC) from 2013-2017

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES@#This study aimed to determine the factors associated with suicide attempt among psychiatry inpatients aged 15 to 24 years old, admitted for suicidal ideations or behavior at The Medical City during a five-year study period, January 2013 to December 2017; to describe the demographic and clinical profile of these patients; and to determine if there was an association between demographic and clinical factors as well as suicidal attempt in this population.@*METHODOLOGY@# This retrospective chart review, investigated the association between demographic and clinical variables, and suicide attempt in a sample of suicidal psychiatry inpatients aged 15-24 years old, during a 5-year study period. The sample was subdivided into two subsets according to the presence or absence of suicide attempts in their lifetime. The demographic and clinical variables were then collected, analyzed, and compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#The present study reviewed 199 charts of suicidal psychiatry inpatients aged 15-24 years old hospitalized from 2013 to 2017 at The Medical City. The present study found an increasing trend in the number of psychiatric inpatients aged 15 to 24 who were confined for suicidal ideation and/or behavior over the course of the study period. Of the 199 subjects included in the study, 119 (59.8%) had attempted suicide, while 80 (40.2%) had not.@*CONCLUSION@#On comparison of the demographic and clinical factors among patients with a suicide attempt versus without an attempt, sex was found to be significantly associated with an attempt (p-value = 0.01). Specifically, the odds of a suicide attempt was twice higher among females (odds ratio = 2.27). Among the other demographic and clinical variables studied, no sufficient statistical evidence was found to declare significant statistical association with suicide attempt. This suggests that etiological factors related to suicide attempts for male and females may differ, hence such nuances need to be taken into account in the clinical assessment and design of interventions to prevent suicide.