Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation in chronic patients with schizophrenia: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Prior studies seeking to identify factors associated with suicide in patients with schizophrenia have reported important, though limited, and controversial findings. Our aims were to examine the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and investigate the relationship between SI and a variety of factors (such as insomnia, religious coping, previous life experiences, dependency in daily living activities, positivity) in patients with schizophrenia. Method This was a cross-sectional study carried out among Lebanese patients with schizophrenia during January 2022. Results Out of 196 patients, 17.3% had SI. Multivariable logistic regression found that more loneliness (aOR = 1.43) and more severe insomnia (aOR = 1.08) were substantially related with increased odds of reporting SI, whereas having more positive life experiences (aOR = 0.83) was associated with lower odds of occurrence of SI. Positive/negative religious coping, activities of daily living and positivity showed no significant association with SI in our sample and context. Conclusion Findings showed that SI is highly prevalent in chronic patients with schizophrenia. The study identified three important factors (insomnia, loneliness, and positive experiences in life) associated with SI in schizophrenia, which could be targeted in prevention and intervention strategies.