Research spotlight: Uncovering the links between sleep struggles, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts in teens with depression
Rebecca Robbins, PhD, of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in Psychiatry Research, “Exploring sleep difficulties, alcohol, illicit drugs, and suicidal ideation among adolescents with a history of depression.”
How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in the U.S. We know, due to previous research, that difficulty falling asleep or waking up too early as well as abuse of prescription drugs, sedative and opioids is associated with thinking, planning or attempting suicide — otherwise known as, suicide ideation.
Using responses from the 2015 to 2020 National Surveys of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), our team analyzed and quantified the associations between sleep difficulties and suicidal ideation among adolescents with a history of depression and how these associations were amplified by illicit drug and/or alcohol abuse/dependence. We found significant associations between sleeping difficulties and suicide ideation among adolescents with a history of depression, and a more robust association between sleep difficulties when the person reported alcohol abuse/dependence and those that reported illicit drug abuse/dependence in the past year
What knowledge gaps does your study help to fill?
Through our analysis, we quantified the connection between sleep difficulty and substance use among adolescents with a history of depression. Our work suggests significant associations between sleep difficulties, illicit drug use and suicidal ideation in adolescents with symptoms of major depressive episodes.
How did you conduct your study?
We analyzed NSDUH survey results from 38,418 respondents between the ages of 12 to 17 over a five-year period. Questions in the surveys asked respondents about their sleep difficulties, suicide ideation symptoms, illicit drug use and depression symptoms.
From that dataset, 11.6% reported thinking about suicide, 5.7% reported planning a suicide attempt and 3.8% reported making a suicide attempt. Additionally, 16.7% reported sleeping difficulties. Respondents who engaged with alcohol abuse had associations with sleep difficulties and attempts of suicide. Respondents who partook in illicit drug abuse had associations with sleep difficulties and thinking and attempting suicide.
What are the implications?
The findings of our work are consistent with past research connecting difficulty in sleeping with mental health concerns, such as suicide ideation. Fortunately, behavioral interventions, therapies and medications can treat patients who experience difficulties in sleeping.
There are a few limitations to our study, therefore, our results should be interpreted with caution. In the dataset, there was one question about sleeping difficulties. In addition, based on the format of the questions in the survey, it’s possible sleep difficulty and suicide behavior symptoms were experienced more than one year before and alcohol and illicit drug use occurred in the year prior to the responses.
What are the next steps?
Fortunately, sleep difficulties are treatable with behavioral therapy and medication. Future research may include designing sleep health interventions that are tailored to the needs of adolescents struggling with mental health concerns and/or substance use/abuse.
Authorship: In addition to Dr. Robbins, additional Brigham and Women’s Hospital authors include Matthew D. Weaver, Stuart F. Quan, Charles A. Czeisler, Ralph J. DiClemente
Paper cited: Robbins, R et al. “Exploring sleep difficulties, alcohol, illicit drugs, and suicidal ideation among adolescents with a history of depression.” Psychiatry Research DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116116
Journal
Psychiatry Research
Article Title
Robbins, R et al. “Exploring sleep difficulties, alcohol, illicit drugs, and suicidal ideation among adolescents with a history of depression.” Psychiatry Research DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116116
Article Publication Date
2-Aug-2024
New study reveals alarming increase in suicide rates among young Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population
First nationally representative analysis of suicide temporal trends among AAPI young adults across sexes over 21 years
(Boston)—While suicide rates have decreased for white populations over the past two decades, they have increased in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Yet, there are very little studies that examine trends of suicidal death across sexes in AAPI young adults aged 18–25.
A new study from researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has found that over the 21-year period (1999–2020), there has been a notable increase in the prevalence of suicidal death among AAPI young adults across both sexes, with a sharp increase among AAPI male young adults starting in 2008.
“Our study highlights a growing mental health crisis within this community that often goes unnoticed. More importantly, there is a severe, dire lack of public health attention and federal funding on this issue,” explains corresponding author Seungbin Oh, PhD, LPC, NCC, assistant professor of psychiatry at the school.
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Multiple Cause-of-Death files spanning from 1999–2020, the researchers analyzed trends of suicidal death among Asian American young adults aged 18-25.
They found that during the 21-year study period, a total number of 4,082 AAPI young adults died by suicide, with the annual average suicidal rate being 3.47 per 100,000 individuals. Of those deaths, the majority (74.9 %) were males while 25.1 % were females. From 1999–2020, the rate of suicide increased for both AAPI males and females. Specifically, males reported a 60.7% increase in their suicide rate, from 10.78 % to 17.32 %. AAPI females reported an increase of 64 %, from 4.70 % to 7.71 %. The peak suicide rate for males was in 2019 at 19.69 %., while for females, it was in 2020 at 7.71 %.
According to the researchers, these suicidal actions are often not preceded by visible warning signs, suggesting that AAPI may silently endure their suicidal thoughts before deciding to act on them. “Given the "hidden ideation" phenomenon, where AAPI individuals may not show visible warning signs before a suicide attempt, there is a critical need for culturally tailored early detection and preventive strategies,” says Oh.
The researchers hope that this study will ultimately lead to the development of more effective, culturally sensitive mental health interventions that can address the unique challenges faced by AAPI young adults. “By understanding and mitigating the rising trends of suicidality, we aim to improve the overall quality of life and mental well-being for all individuals in this community,” adds Oh.
These findings appear online in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry.
Journal
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
National trends of suicidality 1999–2020 among Asian American Pacific Islander young adults across sex
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