Is Heart Failure Associated With Risk of Suicide?
Journal
Journal of Cardiac Failure
Journal Volume
24
Journal Issue
11
Pages
795-800
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Abstract
Background: The high prevalence of heart failure (HF) in developed countries imposes a substantial burden on health care resources. Depression is widely recognized as a risk factor associated with HF. This study examined the relationship between suicide and HF after controlling for depression and other comorbidities. Methods and Results: The population comprised 52,749 adult patients who died from suicide from 2000 to 2012 and 210,996 living control subjects matched by age, sex, and residence area. Data were obtained from the Health and Welfare Data Science Center, Taiwan. Multivariable models were constructed to evaluate the relationship between HF and suicide. In the case and control groups 1624 (3.08%) and 4053 (1.92%) patients had HF, respectively, indicating that HF was associated with an increased risk of suicide (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59–1.79). The risk of suicide was highest during the initial 6 months after HF (adjusted OR 7.04, 95% CI 5.37–9.22) and subsequently declined gradually. Among psychiatric disorders, mood disorders (adjusted OR 7.42, 95% CI 7.06–7.79) yielded the highest odds of suicide. Conclusions: The risk of suicide is higher for patients with HF than for healthy individuals without HF. This risk is particularly high during the first 6 months after HF diagnosis. This study provides strong evidence that depression is a negative prognostic factor for patients with HF and increases the risk of suicide. The results suggest that early screening and treatment for depression and suicide risk should be conducted for patients with HF. ? 2018 Elsevier Inc.
Subjects
Comorbidity; depression; health care utilization; heart failure; suicide
SDGs
Other Subjects
adult; age; aged; Article; comorbidity; confidence interval; controlled study; demography; depression; disease association; female; heart failure; human; major clinical study; male; mood disorder; odds ratio; priority journal; risk factor; sex; suicide; Taiwan; adolescent; clinical trial; follow up; heart failure; mental disease; middle aged; multicenter study; prevalence; procedures; retrospective study; risk assessment; statistics and numerical data; suicide; time factor; trends; young adult; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Comorbidity; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart Failure; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Suicide; Taiwan; Time Factors; Young Adult
Type
journal article