Psychiatric consultations as a modifiable factor for repeated suicide attempt-related hospitalizations: A nationwide, population-based study

Background: The risk of mortality and morbidity increased in repeated suicide attempts. This study aimed to investigate how psychiatric consultations, a modifiable factor, affects the risk of repeated suicide attempts in patients.

Methods: The National Health Insurance Research Database was used in this study. All inpatients aged ≧10 with suicide attempts were recruited in Taiwan from 2000 through 2015. Both the cross-sectional and cohort studies were used to evaluate the risk of repeated suicide attempts associated with psychiatric consultations.

Results: In the cross-sectional approach, a total of 88,161 suicide attempts and 7,997 with repeated suicide attempts were found. Multivariable logistic regression found that the patients with psychiatric consultations were associated with the decreased risk of repeated suicide attempt-related hospitalization (SARD), as per the adjusted odds ratio of 0.527 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.416-0.859, p <0.001). In the retrospective cohort approach, the Fine and Gray’s survival analysis revealed that the patients with psychiatric consultations were associated with a lower risk of repeated SARD (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR] =0.533( 95% CI, 0.332-0.850, p <0.001).

Conclusions: Overall, psychiatric consultations for the patients could be a modifiable factor, which were associated with the decreased risk of repeated suicide attempts. The age of clinicians and their experience could be the primary variable above and beyond the mental illness or the performed suicide attempt method.