The associations of childhood adversities and mental disorders with suicidal thoughts and behaviors - Results from the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative


Por: Mortier P, Yang X, Altwaijri YA, Holdcraft JA, Lee S, Sampson NA, Albor Y, Alhadi AN, Alonso J, Al-Saud NK, Andersson C, Atwoli L, Auerbach RP, Muaka CA, Báez-Mansur PM, Ballester L, Bantjes J, Baumeister H, Bendtsen M, Benjet C, Berman AH, Bruffaerts R, Carrasco P, Chan SCN, Cohut I, Covarrubias Díaz Couder MA, Crockett MA, Cuijpers P, David OA, Dong D, Ebert DD, Gaete J, Félez M, García Forero C, Gili M, Gutiérrez-García RA, Haro JM, Hasking P, Hunt X, Husky MM, Jaguga F, Jansen L, Langer ÁI, Liu Y, Mac-Ginty S, Martínez V, Mason A, Mathai M, McLafferty M, Miranda AE, Murray EK, Musyoka CM, O'Neill SM, Papasteri CC, Piqueras JA, Popescu CA, Rapsey C, Robinson K, Rodriguez-Jimenez T, Scarf D, Siu OL, Stein DJ, Struijs SY, Tomoiaga CT, Valdés-García KP, Vereecke S, Vigo DV, Wang AY, Wong SYS and Kessler RC

Publicada: 1 ago 2025 Ahead of Print: 1 may 2025
Resumen:
Objective: To investigate the associations of demographic variables, childhood adversities (CAs), and mental disorders (MDx) with onset, transition, and persistence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among first-year university students. Method: Poisson regression models within a discrete-time survival framework were constructed using web-based self-report survey data from 72,288 incoming university students across 18 countries (response rate=20.9%; median age=19 years, 57.9% female, 1.4% transgender, 21.0% non-heterosexual). These models examined the associations of four demographic variables, five CAs, and eight MDx with STB outcomes. Results: Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts was 47.0%, 26.0%, and 9.6%, respectively; 12-month estimates were 30.6%, 14.0%, and 2.3%. In unadjusted analyses, associations were strongest between lifetime onset of suicidal ideation and CAs (RR range 4.4-7.0), particularly parental psychopathology (relative risk [RR]=7.0 [95% CI 6.5-7.7]), followed by MDx (RR range 1.3-3.0). Of the demographic subgroups, trans-gender students had highest risk of STB (lifetime ideation onset RR=2.4 [2.3-2.6]; ideation-to-attempt transition RR=1.5 [1.3-1.8]). In fully adjusted models, strongest predictors of lifetime ideation onset were emotional abuse (RR=2.1 [1.9-2.2]), major depressive disorder (RR=2.0 [1.9-2.1]), and bipolar disorder (RR=1.8 [1.6-2.0]). Ideation-to-attempt transition remained most strongly associated with panic disorder (RR=1.5 [1.3-1.7]), bi-polar disorder (RR=1.4 [1.2-1.7]), and sexual abuse (RR=1.4 [1.2-1.7]). Most predictors were significantly but weakly associated with persistence of ideation and plan, while only physical abuse remained associated with repeated suicide attempts (RR=1.3 [1.0-1.8]). Conclusion: CAs and MDx are strong predictors of both onset of and transition within the STB spectrum, underscoring the importance of implementing early-life prevention interventions.

Filiaciones:
Mortier P:
 Health Services Research Group, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Carrer del Doctor Aiguader, 88 08003 Barcelona, Spain

 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERESP, ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0 28029 Madrid, Spain

Yang X:
 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

Altwaijri YA:
 Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific Computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Holdcraft JA:
 Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Lee S:
 Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Sampson NA:
 Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Albor Y:
 Center for Global Mental Health Research, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico

Alhadi AN:
 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

 SABIC Psychological Health Research & Applications Chair (SPHRAC), Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Alonso J:
 Health Services Research Group, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Carrer del Doctor Aiguader, 88 08003 Barcelona, Spain

 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERESP, ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0 28029 Madrid, Spain

 Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona, Spain

Al-Saud NK:
 Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific Computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Andersson C:
 Department of Criminology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

Atwoli L:
 Department of Medicine, Medical College East Africa, the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya

 Brain and Mind Institute, the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya

 Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya

Auerbach RP:
 Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Muaka CA:
 Department of Psychology & Counselling, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

Báez-Mansur PM:
 Coordinación de Desarrollo Académico y Servicios Educativos, Universidad la Salle Ciudad Victoria, Ciudad Victoria, Mexico

Ballester L:
 Health Services Research Group, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Carrer del Doctor Aiguader, 88 08003 Barcelona, Spain

 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERESP, ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0 28029 Madrid, Spain

Bantjes J:
 Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa

 Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa

 Institute for Life Course Health Research, Global Health, Stellenbosch University

Baumeister H:
 Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

Bendtsen M:
 Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linkoping, Sweden

Benjet C:
 Center for Global Mental Health Research, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City, Mexico

Berman AH:
 Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Bruffaerts R:
 Center for Public Health Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium

 Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum KU Leuven (UPC-KUL), Leuven, Belgium

 WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Belgium

Carrasco P:
 Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERESP, ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0 28029 Madrid, Spain

 Department of Medicine, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

 Epidemiology and Environmental Health Joint Research Unit, FISABIO-Universitat Jaume I-Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain

Chan SCN:
 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

Cohut I:
 Career Counseling and Guidance Center, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Covarrubias Díaz Couder MA:
 Coordinación de Investigación, Universidad La Salle Noroeste

Crockett MA:
 Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay), Santiago, Chile

Cuijpers P:
 Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Science, Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands

 Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

David OA:
 DATA Lab, International Institute for Advanced Studies in Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babe?-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

 Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Dong D:
 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

Ebert DD:
 School of Medicine and Health, Department for Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University Munich, Germany

Gaete J:
 Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay), Santiago, Chile

 Centro de Investigación en Salud Mental Estudiantil (ISME), Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile

Félez M:
 Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Deu (IRSJD), Sant Boi de Llobregat , Barcelona, Spain

García Forero C:
 Departamento de Medicina, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC), Barcelona, Spain

Gili M:
 Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Palma, Mallorca, Spain

Gutiérrez-García RA:
 Universidad La Salle Bajío, campus Salamanca, Mexico

Haro JM:
 Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Deu (IRSJD), Sant Boi de Llobregat , Barcelona, Spain

 Centro de investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain

Hasking P:
 School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

 Curtin enAble Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Hunt X:
 Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa

 Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa

Husky MM:
 Active Team, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, INSERM U1219, University of Bordeaux, France

Jaguga F:
 Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Services, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya

Jansen L:
 Center for Public Health Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium

 Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum KU Leuven (UPC-KUL), Leuven, Belgium

Langer ÁI:
 Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay), Santiago, Chile

 Facultad de Psicología y Humanidades, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile

Liu Y:
 School of Public Health, Jining Medical University, Jining 272067, Shandong Province, PR China

Mac-Ginty S:
 Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay), Santiago, Chile

 Department of Health Service & Population Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK

Martínez V:
 Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (Imhay), Santiago, Chile

 Centro de Medicina Reproductiva y Desarrollo Integral del Adolescente (Cemera), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Mason A:
 School of Psychological and Social Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Mathai M:
 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya

McLafferty M:
 Personalised Medicine Centre, School of Medicine, Ulster University, Derry/Londonderry, UK

 Atlantic Technological University, Donegal, Ireland

Miranda AE:
 Centro de investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain

 Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute, Carrer de Santa Rosa, 39-57, 08950, Esplugues del Llobregat, Spain

Murray EK:
 Personalised Medicine Centre, School of Medicine, Ulster University, Derry/Londonderry, UK

Musyoka CM:
 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya

O'Neill SM:
 School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK

Papasteri CC:
 Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania

Piqueras JA:
 Department of Health Psychology, Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche (UMH), Alicante, Spain

Popescu CA:
 Department of Human Sciences, 'Iuliu Hatieganu' University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Rapsey C:
 Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Robinson K:
 School of Psychology, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Rodriguez-Jimenez T:
 Department of Psychology and Sociology, Universidad de Zaragoza (UNIZAR), Zaragoza, Spain

Scarf D:
 Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Siu OL:
 Department of Psychology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, SAR, China

Stein DJ:
 SAMRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Dept of Psychiatry & Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Struijs SY:
 Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Science, Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Tomoiaga CT:
 DATA Lab, International Institute for Advanced Studies in Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Babe?-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Valdés-García KP:
 Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico

Vereecke S:
 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Vigo DV:
 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

 School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Wang AY:
 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Wong SYS:
 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China

Kessler RC:
 Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
ISSN: 01651781





PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
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Tipo de documento: Article
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