Effects of Atopic Dermatitis on Suicidal Ideation, Plans and Attempts in Young Adult

Abstract Background Chronic illnesses belong to suicide risk factors. The goal of the current study was to estimate the rate of suicide-related behaviors in patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne from a third-person perspective (namely, Austrian dermatologists). Methods A link to a questionnaire specially developed for this study was emailed to 450 self-employed dermatologists in Austria, from which a total of 45 participated. Results Three dermatologists reported more than five patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne who committed suicide in 2017. Seven doctors treated between 1 and 10 such patients suffering from suicidal ideation. These results are suggestive for a low rate of suicidal ideations in Austrian dermatology ordinations. The majority of dermatologists in the sample (82%) knew that these patients are at higher suicide risk. 60% of participants also believed that it rather would not be a problem for them to recognize suicidal ideation. When facing patients in a suicide crisis, reported intervention steps were: referring them to a specialist in psychiatry, or having a conversation about it. In the sample, most challenging about suicide was lack of time and lack of knowledge. Dermatologists were also interested in cooperating with mental health professionals and in the implementation of new prevention strategies (e.g., suicide-related training programs). Analysis revealed that private specialists, as compared with contract physicians, had fewer patients, but spent more time with them. Yet, these differences did not appear to influence the quality of treatment they provided. Treatment quality was defined as the extent to which doctors tell their patients that additional psychological treatments could be helpful and asking them about their emotional state. Female gender and a professional background in psychology impacted positively on treatment quality. Conclusions Possible explanations for the low rate of suicidal ideations reported include the advanced Austrian health care system and dermatologists’ underestimation of the problem. Implications of the study are to promote cooperation between dermatologists and mental health professionals and to address patient suicidality from a first-person perspective (i.e., the patients).

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Association of defecation disorders with suicidal ideation in young adult with chronic abdominal discomfort

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 253 ◽

pp. 308-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chen Jiang ◽

Yan Xu ◽

Stuti Sharma ◽

Lei Zhang ◽

Huan Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adult ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Abdominal Discomfort ◽

Defecation Disorders

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Psychological Distress in Young Adult Males with Atopic Dermatitis

Medicine ◽

10.1097/md.0000000000000949 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 94 (23) ◽

pp. e949 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Si-Heon Kim ◽

Jae Hur ◽

Jae-Yeon Jang ◽

Hae-Sim Park ◽

Chang Hyung Hong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atopic Dermatitis ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Young Adult ◽

Adult Males ◽

Young Adult Males

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Bone mineral density and osteoporosis risk in young adults with atopic dermatitis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-03630-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sooyoung Kim ◽

Jimi Choi ◽

Moon Kyun Cho ◽

Nam Hoon Kim ◽

Sin Gon Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Mineral Density ◽

Vitamin D ◽

Young Adults ◽

Atopic Dermatitis ◽

Lumbar Spine ◽

Young Adult ◽

Bone Mineral ◽

Z Score ◽

Mineral Density ◽

Osteoporosis Risk

AbstractAtopic dermatitis (AD) has been increasing worldwide over the past few decades. AD has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures in adult AD patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the bone mineral density (BMD) to evaluate osteoporosis risk in young adults with AD by sex. This was a case–control cohort study using a national dataset from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2009. We included young adult AD patients (men aged 19 ≤ and < 50 years, premenopausal women aged 19 ≤ and < 50 years) and 1:5 propensity score weighting controls by age, sex, body mass index (BMI), vitamin D level, and alcohol/smoking status. BMD was measured by double energy X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine, femur neck, and total femur. The prevalence of low BMD, defined by a Z-score ≤ − 2.0, was compared between AD and without AD. We analyzed 311 (weighted n = 817,014) AD patients and 8,972 (weighted n = 20,880,643) controls. BMD at the lumbar spine was significantly lower in the male AD group than in the male control group (mean ± SE, 0.954 ± 0.016 vs. 0.989 ± 0.002, P = 0.03). The prevalence of low BMD (Z-score) did not significantly differ between AD and non-AD subjects in both men (3.8% vs. 2.7%, P = 0.56) and women (6.4% vs. 3.3%, P = 0.40). Among AD patients, early age at diagnosis of AD, longer duration of AD, lower BMI, rural residence (for men), less education, low vitamin D level, late menarche, and more pregnancies (for women) were associated with low BMD. In conclusion, low BMD did not occur more frequently in young adults with AD than in non-AD controls. However, early-onset/longer AD duration and lower BMI were associated with low BMD among young adult patients with AD.

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