Abstract
People living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRDs) are at a higher risk of suicidal behaviors given intersecting risk factors. Previous studies generally only focused on AD, small clinical samples, or grouped all dementia subtypes together, limiting insights for other ADRD subtypes. The objective of this study was to generate evidence related to the relative burden of suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation and suicide attempt) among people with AD and ADRDs. This retrospective cross-sectional study identified hospitalizations related to suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation and suicide attempt) for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias using ICD-10-CM codes from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD). A logistic regression model was estimated to assess associations between AD/ADRD subtype and patient characteristics, and the risk for a suicidal-behavior-related hospitalization and modes of harm were reported. During 2016–2018, there were 12,538 hospitalizations related to suicidal behaviors for people with AD/ADRDs. The overall prevalence of suicidal-behavior-related hospitalizations was lowest for AD (0.8%) and highest for frontotemporal dementia (2.6%). Among hospitalizations for suicide attempts, the most common mode of harm was medications or drugs (89.2% of all attempts), followed by weapons (17.7%). We found that there was a difference in the frequency of suicidal-behavior-related hospitalizations among AD/ADRD hospitalized patients across dementia subtypes.
Highlights
We described the overall prevalence of suicidal behaviors among subtypes, associations between suicidal behaviors and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)/AD-related dementias (ADRDs) and other patient factors, and the modes of harm used in suicide attempts associated with a hospitalization
During 2016–2018, there were 12,538 hospitalizations related to suicidal behaviors for people with AD/ADRDs
vascular dementia (VaD)-related hospitalizations for suicidal behaviors were 2.0% (5035) of all hospitalizations, and 11.4% of these were for suicide attempts
Summary
There is a dichotomy of mental health in older adults. Many older adults report greater well-being and emotional capacity [1], yet suicide rates peak in older age groups [2,3]. Baby boomers have a higher suicide risk than prior generations, making suicide an important public health issue as this generation ages [4,5]. Presence of serious comorbid conditions, which are prevalent with increasing age, increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors [6]
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