Asthma and allergy as risk factors for suicidal behavior among young adults.

An association between allergic disease, depression and suicidality has been reported.

OBJECTIVE:
To explore the relationships between suicidality and asthma, allergy, internet addiction, stress, sleep quality, pain/discomfort, and depression, among emerging adults.

PARTICIPANTS:
929 college students completed an online survey between October 2015 and April 2017.

METHODS:
A cross-sectional study using multivariate analysis techniques was implemented.

RESULTS:
Using structural equation modeling, we found that allergies and stress were directly related to pain/discomfort; pain/discomfort was associated to poor sleep, depression, and suicidality. Sleep quality was also affected by stress; while sleep, stress, pain/discomfort, and internet addiction were directly related to depression (all p < .05). Ultimately, four factors impacted suicidality: stress, pain/discomfort, depression, and, indirectly, sleep quality (all p < .05). Although allergy had some effects, these did not reach statistical significance (p < .09).

CONCLUSION:
Findings suggest that allergy might impact suicidality indirectly through increased pain/discomfort, poor sleep, and depression.