Alcohol Abuse, Impulsivity and Suicide Attempts in Bipolar Disorders

Abstract

Introduction The mortality rate in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) is 3-4 times higher than in the general population. This excess mortality is mainly related to suicide risk. Objectives – Assess the prevalence of suicidal behavior in patients with BD. – Discuss the risk factors for them. Methods Our study was a transversal type, descriptive and analytical. It was conducted with 60 patients from the psychiatry consultation of Sfax, meeting the DSM-IV-TR criteria of BD. For each, we collected the following: • A record of clinical and socio-demographic data. • Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview “MINI” version 05 to screen for alcohol abuse / dependence. • The Barratt impulsiveness scale “BIS-11”. Results The average age of patients was 41,3 years (21-63 years). The sex ratio (M / F) was 1,1. 45,5% of patients were single. The BD was type I in 81.8% of cases and type II in 18.2%. Family history of BD was noted in 56.8% of patients. 56.8% had a high level of impulsiveness. The prevalence of alcohol addictive behavior was 21.9%. The rate of suicide attempts was 30%. The most used means were: defenestration (38.46%) and hanging (30.76%). Suicide attempts were correlated with a high degree of impulsivity (p = 0.007) and alcohol addiction (p = 0.029). Conclusion Suicide attempts interested almost the third of bipolar patients. Impulsivity seems to be an important factor for increasing suicide risk in BD, with alcohol addiction. Successful clinical management of alcohol use disorders may be critical to reduce this risk in this population.