Suicide attempt and its associated factors in young women with adolescent pregnancy in Bangladesh: higher risk if shorter post-pregnancy
Abstract Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a major public health problem around the world, with higher prevalence in low income countries and it was a risk factor for suicide. We aimed to assess the prevalence of suicide attempts among young women with adolescent pregnancy in Bangladesh and to explore its association with socio-demographics and pregnancy related factors, health status, and social support.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed young women with adolescent pregnancy in urban and rural areas in Bangladesh to assess suicide attempts, socio-demographic and pregnancy-related characteristics, perceived health status, and perceived social support. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationship of the potential related factors with suicide attempts.Results: Among the participating women, 6.5% (61/940) reported suicide attempts in the last 12 months, and majority (88.5%) of the attempts happened within one year after the pregnancy. Participants with more years after first pregnancy (odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, 95%CI = 0.38–0.63) and more perceived social support from friends (OR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.57–0.88) were less likely to have suicide attempts, and those perceived bad health status compared with good/fair healthy status (OR = 7.73, 95%CI = 2.85–20.99) were more likely to attempt suicide.Conclusions: Women with adolescent pregnancy were at high risk of suicide attempt especially those during the first year post-pregnancy. The risk of suicide attempts attenuated with the time after pregnancy, and perceived social support from friends was a protective factor and perceived bad health status was a risk factor for suicide attempts among young women who have experienced adolescent pregnancy.