1. Prevalence of suicidality increased significantly over a 12-year period among childbearing persons.
2. The prevalence of suicidality with comorbid depression or anxiety increased significantly over this same time period.
Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)
Suicide death is consistently a leading cause of mortality in the United States. Maternal mortality is also affected by suicidality, ranging from suicide ideation and self-harm to death. This serial cross-sectional study used data from medical claims for a commercially insured U.S. population from January 2006 to December 2017. A total of 595,237 childbearing individuals were analyzed (M [SD] age = 31.9 [6.4] years), which included 2,714 diagnoses of suicidality within one year before or after 698,239 deliveries. Approximately 63.1% were White, 12.1% were Hispanic, 8.6% were Black, 6.8% were Asian, and 9.5% had missing race/ethnicity data. From 2006 to 2017, the prevalence of suicide ideation increased from 0.1% per 100 persons to 0.5% per 100 individuals (SE = .02, p<.001). Overall suicidality prevalence increased during this time period as well (difference 0.4%, SE = .04, p<.001). Diagnoses of suicidality with comorbid psychotic or bipolar disorders increased by 10.1% in this timeframe (SE = .2, p<.001), along with comorbid depression or anxiety increasing by 1.4% (SE = .2, p<.001). The greatest increases were among those of lower socioeconomic status, non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity, and younger chronological age. In sum, this study demonstrated a significant increase in suicidality prevalence over a 12-year period among childbearing persons. Given these trends, it is important to adequately assess for suicidality among this population and develop health policies that cater to these needs.
Click to read the study in JAMA Psychiatry
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