Are Volunteering and Caregiving Associated with Suicide Risk? A Census-based Longitudinal Study

BackgroundThis record linkage study explores the suicide risk of people engaged in caregiving and volunteering. Theory suggests opposing risks as volunteering is associated with better mental health and caregiving with a higher prevalence and incidence of depression.MethodsA 2011 census-based study of 1,018,000 people aged 25–74 years (130,816 caregivers and 110,467 volunteers; 42,099 engaged in both). All attributes were based on census records. Caregiving was categorised as either light (1–19 hours/week) or more intense (20+ hours/week). Suicide risk was based on 45 months of death records and assessed using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for and stratification by mental health status at census.ResultsMore intense caregiving was associated with worse mental health (ORadj = 1.15: 95%CI = 1.12, 1.18); volunteering with better mental health (OR 0.87; 95%CIs 0.84, 0.89). The cohort experienced 528 suicides during follow-up. Both volunteering and caregiving were associated with a lower risk of suicide though this was modified by baseline mental ill-health (P = 0.003), HR 0.66; 95%CIs 0.49, 0.88 for those engaged in either activity and with good mental health at baseline and HR 1.02; 95%CIs 0.69, 1.51 for their peers with poor mental health. There was some indication that those engaged in both activities had the lowest suicide risk (HR 0.34; 95%CIs 0.14, 0.84).ConclusionsDespite the poorer mental health amongst caregivers they are not at increased risk of suicide. The significant overlap between caregiving and volunteering and the lower risk of suicide for those engaged in both activities may indicate a synergism of action.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Download Full-text

Association between suicide, external-cause and all-cause mortality and irregular mental health discharge among the US veteran population

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.1000 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Natalie B. Riblet ◽

Daniel J. Gottlieb ◽

Bradley V. Watts ◽

Maxwell Levis ◽

Brian Shiner

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Post Discharge ◽

Residential Settings ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Us ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

The Relationship

Background Irregular hospital discharge is highly prevalent among people admitted to hospital for mental health reasons. No study has examined the relationship between irregular discharge, post-discharge mortality and treatment setting (i.e. mortality after patients are discharged from acute in-patient or residential mental health settings). Aims To understand the relationship between irregular discharge and mortality among patients discharged from acute in-patient and residential settings. Method A retrospective study was conducted in members of the US veteran population discharged from acute in-patient or residential settings of the US Department of Veterans Affairs between 2003 and 2018. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards were used to evaluate associations between irregular discharge and suicide, external-cause (as defined by ICD-10 Codes: V01-Y98) and all-cause mortality in the first 30-, 90- and 180-days post-discharge. Results There were over 1.5 million mental health discharges between 2003 and 2018. Patients with an irregular discharge were at increased risk for suicide, external-cause and all-cause mortality in the first 180 days after discharge. In the first 30 days after discharge, patients with irregular discharge had more than three times greater suicide risk than patients with regular discharge (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 3.41, 95% CI 2.21–5.25). Suicide risk was higher among patients with irregular discharge in the first 30 days after acute in-patient discharge (adjusted HR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.11–2.16). In both settings, the mortality risk associated with irregular discharge attenuated but remained elevated within 90 and 180 days. Conclusions Irregular discharge after an acute in-patient or residential stay poses a large risk for mortality soon after discharge. Clinicians must identify effective interventions to mitigate harms associated with irregular discharge in these settings.

Download Full-text

Are volunteering and caregiving associated with suicide risk? A Census-based longitudinal study

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-019-2255-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Rosato ◽

Foteini Tseliou ◽

David M. Wright ◽

Aideen Maguire ◽

Dermot O’Reilly

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Record Linkage ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Linkage Study ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Cox Models ◽

Good Mental Health ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Background Opposing risks have been identified between different prosocial activities, with volunteering having been linked to better mental health while caregiving has been associated with higher prevalence and incidence of depression. This study explored suicide risk of people engaged in prosocial activities of caregiving and/or volunteering. Methods A Census-based record linkage study of 1,018,000 people aged 25–74 years (130,816 caregivers; 110,467 volunteers; and 42,099 engaged in both) was undertaken. Caregiving (light: 1–19; intense: ≥20 h/week), volunteering and mental health status were derived from 2011 Census records. Suicide risk (45 months follow-up) was assessed using Cox models adjusted for baseline mental health. Results Intense caregiving was associated with worse mental health (ORadj = 1.15: 95%CI = 1.12, 1.18) and volunteering with better mental health (OR = 0.87: 95%CI = 0.84, 0.89). For those engaged in both activities, likelihood of poor mental health was determined by caregiving level. There were 528 suicides during follow-up, with those engaged in both activities having the lowest risk of suicide (HR = 0.34: 95%CI = 0.14, 0.84). Engaging in either volunteering or caregiving was associated with lower suicide risk for those with good mental health at baseline (HR = 0.66: 95%CI = 0.49, 0.88) but not for their peers with baseline poor mental health (HR = 1.02: 95%CI = 0.69, 1.51). Conclusions Although an increased risk of poor mental health was identified amongst caregivers, there was no evidence of an increased risk of suicide.

Download Full-text

Changes in Metabolic Syndrome Status and Breast Cancer Risk: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13051177 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 1177

Author(s):

In Young Choi ◽

Sohyun Chun ◽

Dong Wook Shin ◽

Kyungdo Han ◽

Keun Hye Jeon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Screening Program ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Hazard Ratios ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Health Screening Program ◽

Design And Methods

Objective: To our knowledge, no studies have yet looked at how the risk of developing breast cancer (BC) varies with changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) status. This study aimed to investigate the association between changes in MetS and subsequent BC occurrence. Research Design and Methods: We enrolled 930,055 postmenopausal women aged 40–74 years who participated in a biennial National Health Screening Program in 2009–2010 and 2011–2012. Participants were categorized into four groups according to change in MetS status during the two-year interval screening: sustained non-MetS, transition to MetS, transition to non-MetS, and sustained MetS. We calculated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for BC incidence using the Cox proportional hazards models. Results: At baseline, MetS was associated with a significantly increased risk of BC (aHR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.17) and so were all of its components. The risk of BC increased as the number of the components increased (aHR 1.46, 95% CI 1.26–1.61 for women with all five components). Compared to the sustained non-MetS group, the aHR (95% CI) for BC was 1.11 (1.04–1.19) in the transition to MetS group, 1.05 (0.96–1.14) in the transition to non-MetS group, and 1.18 (1.12–1.25) in the sustained MetS group. Conclusions: Significantly increased BC risk was observed in the sustained MetS and transition to MetS groups. These findings are clinically meaningful in that efforts to recover from MetS may lead to reduced risk of BC.

Download Full-text

Association of poor sleep burden in middle age and older adults with risk for delirium during hospitalization

The Journals of Gerontology Series A ◽

10.1093/gerona/glab272 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ma Cherrysse Ulsa ◽

Xi Zheng ◽

Peng Li ◽

Arlen Gaba ◽

Patricia M Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Time Lag ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Cardiovascular Risks ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background Delirium is a distressing neurocognitive disorder recently linked to sleep disturbances. However, the longitudinal relationship between sleep and delirium remains unclear. This study assessed the associations of poor sleep burden, and its trajectory, with delirium risk during hospitalization. Methods 321,818 participants from the UK Biobank (mean age 58±8y[SD]; range 37-74y) reported (2006-2010) sleep traits (sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia-type complaints, napping, and chronotype–a closely-related circadian measure for sleep timing), aggregated into a sleep burden score (0-9). New-onset delirium (n=4,775) was obtained from hospitalization records during 12y median follow-up. 42,291 (mean age 64±8; range 44-83y) had repeat sleep assessment on average 8y after their first. Results In the baseline cohort, Cox proportional hazards models showed that moderate (aggregate scores=4-5) and severe (scores=6-9) poor sleep burden groups were 18% (hazard ratio 1.18 [95% confidence interval 1.08-1.28], p<0.001) and 57% (1.57 [1.38-1.80], p<0.001), more likely to develop delirium respectively. The latter risk magnitude is equivalent to two additional cardiovascular risks. These findings appeared robust when restricted to postoperative delirium and after exclusion of underlying dementia. Higher sleep burden was also associated with delirium in the follow-up cohort. Worsening sleep burden (score increase ≥2 vs. no change) further increased the risk for delirium (1.79 [1.23-2.62], p=0.002) independent of their baseline sleep score and time-lag. The risk was highest in those under 65y at baseline (p for interaction <0.001). Conclusion Poor sleep burden and worsening trajectory were associated with increased risk for delirium; promotion of sleep health may be important for those at higher risk.

Download Full-text

Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Darunavir/Cobicistat in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Findings From the Multicenter Italian CORIST Study

Frontiers in Medicine ◽

10.3389/fmed.2021.639970 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Augusto Di Castelnuovo ◽

Simona Costanzo ◽

Andrea Antinori ◽

Nausicaa Berselli ◽

Lorenzo Blandi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Propensity Scores ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Real Life ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Event Analysis ◽

Multicenter Observational Study ◽

Protein Levels ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk

Background: Protease inhibitors have been considered as possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19 patients.Objectives: To describe the association between lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) use and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients.Study Design: Multicenter observational study of COVID-19 patients admitted in 33 Italian hospitals. Medications, preexisting conditions, clinical measures, and outcomes were extracted from medical records. Patients were retrospectively divided in three groups, according to use of LPV/r, DRV/c or none of them. Primary outcome in a time-to event analysis was death. We used Cox proportional-hazards models with inverse probability of treatment weighting by multinomial propensity scores.Results: Out of 3,451 patients, 33.3% LPV/r and 13.9% received DRV/c. Patients receiving LPV/r or DRV/c were more likely younger, men, had higher C-reactive protein levels while less likely had hypertension, cardiovascular, pulmonary or kidney disease. After adjustment for propensity scores, LPV/r use was not associated with mortality (HR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.13), whereas treatment with DRV/c was associated with a higher death risk (HR = 1.89, 1.53 to 2.34, E-value = 2.43). This increased risk was more marked in women, in elderly, in patients with higher severity of COVID-19 and in patients receiving other COVID-19 drugs.Conclusions: In a large cohort of Italian patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a real-life setting, the use of LPV/r treatment did not change death rate, while DRV/c was associated with increased mortality. Within the limits of an observational study, these data do not support the use of LPV/r or DRV/c in COVID-19 patients.

Download Full-text

Association of COVID19-induced Anosmia and Ageusia with Depression and Suicidal Ideation

10.31234/osf.io/qy2vu ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elad Yom-Tov ◽

Damien Lekkas ◽

Nicholas C. Jacobson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Sensory Deprivation ◽

Recovery Period ◽

Well Being ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

The Senses ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Background. Clinical reports from patients suffering from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reflect a high prevalence of sensory deprivation or loss pertaining to smell (dysosmia/anosmia) and/or taste (dysgeusia/ageusia). Given the importance of the senses to daily functioning and personal experience, the mental health consequences of these symptoms warrant further attention. Methods. A cohort of Reddit users posting within the /r/covid19positive subforum (N=15,821) was leveraged to analyze instantaneous risk of transition to a state of suicidal ideation or depression using Cox proportional-hazards models. Risk transition was defined by posts made in suicide- or depression-related forums, or mentions of relevant phrases with and without mention of anosmia/ageusia in /r/covid19positive. Self-diagnosis of COVID-19 was also modeled as a separate and simultaneous predictor of mental health risk. Results. Mention of anosmia/ageusia was significantly associated with transition to a risk state. Users with a history of anosmia/ageusia-related posts and who self-identified as COVID-19 positive had 30% higher instantaneous risk relative to others. The highest increase in instantaneous risk of suicidal ideation or depression occurred more than 100 days after first posting in /r/covid19positive. Limitations. Use of self-diagnosed disease as well as a broad array of anosmia/ageusia-related terminology may entail both information bias and overestimates of symptom incidence. Conclusions. The specific effects of COVID-19 on the senses may have long-term implications for patient mental health well-being beyond the primary recovery period. Future work is needed to investigate the longitudinal mental health burden of residual COVID-19 symptom presentation.

Download Full-text

Abstract P316: Multiple Vulnerabilities to Health Disparities and Incident Coronary Heart Disease in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.137.suppl_1.p316 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Monika M Safford ◽

Laura Pinheiro ◽

Madeline Sterling ◽

Joshua Richman ◽

Paul Muntner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Disparities ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Low Income ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Health Management ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Southeastern Us ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Regards Study

Social determinants contribute to disparities in incident CHD but it is not known if they have an additive effect. We hypothesized that having more socially determined vulnerabilities to health disparities is associated with increased risk of incident CHD in the REGARDS study, a large biracial prospective cohort with physiological and survey measures. Experts adjudicated incident fatal and nonfatal CHD over 10 years of follow-up. Vulnerabilities included black race, low education, low income, and Southeastern US residence. The risks for CHD outcomes associated with 1, 2, and 3+ vs 0 vulnerabilities were calculated with Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for medical conditions, functional status, health behaviors, and physiologic variables. Of the 19,645 participants free of CHD at baseline (mean age 64 years, 57% women), 16% had 0 vulnerabilities, 36% had 1, 29% had 2, and 18% had 3+. Increasing numbers of vulnerabilities were associated with higher incidence (Figure) and risk of CHD that attenuated somewhat after multivariable adjustment (Table). These findings may provide a method of risk stratification useful for population health management.

Download Full-text

Abstract WP218: Increased Systolic Blood Pressure Variability Among Diabetic Patients is Associated With Higher Risk of Incident Stroke: A Secondary Analysis of ACCORDION

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.51.suppl_1.wp218 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Adam H de Havenon ◽

Ka-Ho Wong ◽

Eva Mistry ◽

Mohammad Anadani ◽

Shadi Yaghi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Blood Pressure Variability ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Diabetic Patients ◽

Adjusted Risk ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk

Background: Increased blood pressure variability (BPV) has been associated with stroke risk, but never specifically in patients with diabetes. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Follow-On Study (ACCORDION), the long term follow-up extension of ACCORD. Visit-to-visit BPV was analyzed using all BP readings during the first 36 months. The primary outcome was incident ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke after 36 months. Differences in mean BPV was tested with Student’s t-test. We fit Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the adjusted risk of stroke across lowest vs. highest quintile of BPV and report hazard ratios along with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Our analysis included 9,241 patients, with a mean (SD) age of 62.7 (6.6) years and 61.7% were male. Mean (SD) follow-up was 5.7 (2.4) years and number of BP readings per patient was 12.0 (4.3). Systolic, but not diastolic, BPV was higher in patients who developed stroke (Table 1). The highest quintile of SBP SD was associated with increased risk of incident stroke, independent of mean blood pressure or other potential confounders. (Table 2, Figure 1). There was no interaction between SBP SD and treatment arm assignment, although the interaction for glucose approached significance (Table 2). Conclusion: Higher systolic BPV was associated with incident stroke in a large cohort of diabetic patients. Future trials of stroke prevention may benefit from interventions targeting BPV reduction.

Download Full-text

Abstract P009: Growth Differentiation Factor 15 And The Subsequent Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.143.suppl_1.p009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Mengkun Chen ◽

Ning Ding ◽

Lena Mathews ◽

Ron C Hoogeveen ◽

Christie M Ballantyne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Troponin T ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities ◽

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 ◽

Differentiation Factor ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Icd 10

Introduction: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a marker of oxidative stress and inflammation and has been associated with several cardiovascular disease (CVD) phenotypes. However, conflicting results have been reported regarding the association of GDF-15 with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in the general population. Hypotheses: Higher GDF-15 level is associated with increased risk of incident AF independent of potential confounders. Methods: In 10,101 White and Black ARIC participants (mean age 60 years and 20.9% Blacks) free of AF at baseline (1993-95), we quantified the association of GDF-15 and incident AF using three Cox proportional hazards models. GDF-15 was measured by SOMA scan assay. AF was defined by hospitalizations with AF diagnosis or death certificates (ICD-9 codes: 427.31-427.32; ICD-10 codes: I48.x) or AF diagnosis by ECG at subsequent ARIC visits. Results: There were 2165 cases of incident AF over a median follow-up of 20.7 years (incidence rate 12.1 cases/1,000 person-years). After adjusting for demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors, log GDF-15 was significantly associated with incident AF (hazard ratio 1.42 (1.25-1.63) for top vs. bottom quartile) (Model 1 in Table ). The result was robust even further adjusting for history of other CVD phenotypes and cardiac markers (Models 2 and 3 in Table ). In Model 3, quartiles of high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) did not demonstrate significant associations with incident AF. Conclusions: In community-based population, elevated GDF-15 level was independently and robustly associated with incident AF (even more strongly than troponin). These results suggest the involvement of GDF-15 in the development of AF and the potential of GDF-15 as a risk marker to identify individuals at high risk of AF.

Download Full-text

Suicide risk within one year of cognitive impairment diagnosis in older adults: a nationwide retrospective cohort study

10.21203/rs.2.19129/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jae Woo Choi ◽

Kang Soo Lee ◽

Euna Han

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

One Year

Abstract Background This study aims to investigate suicide risk within one year of receiving a diagnosis of cognitive impairment in older adults without mental disorders. Methods This study used National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort data on older adults with newly diagnosed cognitive impairment including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, other/unspecified dementia, and mild cognitive impairment from 2004 to 2012. We selected 41,195 older adults without cognitive impairment through 1:1 propensity score matching using age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and index year, with follow-up throughout 2013. We eliminated subjects with mental disorders and estimated adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) of suicide deaths within one year after diagnosis using the Cox proportional hazards models. Results We identified 49 suicide deaths during the first year after cognitive impairment diagnosis. The proportion of observed suicide deaths was the highest within one year after cognitive impairment diagnosis (48.5% of total); older adults with cognitive impairment were at a higher suicide risk than those without cognitive impairment (AHR, 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–3.04). Subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and other/unspecified dementia were at greater suicide risk than those without cognitive impairment (AHR, 1.94, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.12–3.38, 1.05–3.58). Suicide risk in female and young-old adults (60–74 years) with cognitive impairment was higher than in the comparison group (AHR, 2.61, 5.13; 95% CI, 1.29–5.28, 1.48–17.82). Conclusions Older patients with cognitive impairment were at increased suicide risk within one year of diagnosis. Early intervention for suicide prevention should be provided to older adults with cognitive impairment.

Download Full-text