Only ~40 Percent of Youth Suicide Decedents Have Mental Health Diagnosis

Odds of having mental health diagnosis lower for racial, ethnic minorities, those aged 10 to 14 versus 20 to 24 years

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) — About 40 percent of youth suicide decedents have a documented mental health diagnosis, according to a study published online July 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Sofia Chaudhary, M.D., from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the association of documented mental health diagnosis with sociodemographic characteristics, precipitating circumstances, and mechanism among youth suicide decedents (aged 10 to 24 years) in a retrospective, cross-sectional study using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Violent Death Reporting System from 2010 to 2021.

The researchers found that 40.4 percent of the 40,618 youth suicide decedents had a documented mental health diagnosis and 46.8 percent died by firearms. Lower adjusted odds of having a mental health diagnosis were seen for youths who were American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander; and Black versus White (adjusted odds ratios, 0.45, 0.58, and 0.62, respectively); Hispanic versus non-Hispanic (adjusted odds ratio, 0.76); and aged 10 to 14 versus 20 to 24 years (adjusted odds ratio, 0.70). Higher odds of having a mental health diagnosis were seen for females than males (adjusted odds ratios, 1.64). The adjusted odds of having a documented mental health diagnosis were higher for suicides by poisoning; hanging, strangulation, and suffocation; and other mechanisms versus firearm suicides (adjusted odds ratios, 1.70, 2.78, and 1.59, respectively).

“Both increased identification of unmet mental health needs and universal, community-based approaches are needed to prevent youth suicide,” the authors write.