Cross-National Analysis of the Associations Among Mental Disorders and Suicidal Behavior: Findings From the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Data on the lifetime presence & age-of-onset of mental disorders & nonfatal suicidal behaviours were collected via structured face-to-face interviews with 108,664 respondents from 21 countries. The results show each lifetime disorder examined significantly predicts the subsequent first onset of suicide attempt. After controlling for comorbidity, these associations decreased substantially but remained significant in most cases. Disaggregation of the associations between mental disorders & nonfatal suicide attempts showed these associations are largely due to disorders predicting the onset of suicidal thoughts rather than predicting progression from thoughts to attempts. In the few instances where mental disorders predicted the transition from suicide ideation to attempts, the significant disorders are characterized by anxiety & poor impulse control. (80 refs.)