The relationship between mental stimulation level of life events and suicide attempt of rural residents in Shandong Province

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between the level of mental stimulation and the suicide attempts of rural residents in Shandong Province. Methods: A 1:1 matched case-control study was designed to collect 1 200 cases from a survey of three suicide attempts in rural areas of Shandong Province. Controls were selected according to the following matched factors: age difference within 3 years, same gender, same village or neighboring village, no blood relationship, no suicide history. The basic characteristics of all subjects were collected through the questionnaire, and the level of mental stimulation of life events was measured. Multivariate conditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between the level of mental stimulation of life events and suicide attempts. Results: The mean age of the case group and the control group was both (36.6±0.3) years old, and 35.8% (430/1 200) were males in each group. The low-medium level of mental stimulation of negative life events in the case group was 16.7% (200/1 200) and 61.7% (740/1 200), respectively, which was higher than that in the control group, about 2.5% (30/1 200) and 29.3% (352/1 200) (all P values <0.05), respectively. A total of 11.1% (133/1 200) of the case group had positive life events, which was lower than that of the control group [16.8% (201/1 200)] (all P values<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression model analysis showed that after the adjustment of gender, age, place of residence, education level, marital status, occupation, family income, somatic disease, mental disorders, family history of suicide, and opposite life events, the low-medium and high level of mental stimulation of negative life events were risk factors for suicide attempts, with OR (95%CI) as 5.88 (4.53-7.64) and 13.94 (8.15-23.86), respectively. Mental stimulation of positive life events was protective factor of suicide attempts, with OR (95%CI) as 0.58 (0.41-0.82). Conclusion: Mental stimulation of negative and positive life events were risk and protective factors for suicide attempts.