Drinking Drug Use = Suicide Risk

Alcohol and drug use can lead to suicidal thoughts and even unplanned spur-of-the-moment suicide attempts while under the influence. Ronald C. Kessler, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues analyzed data collected between 1990 and 1992 by the US National Comorbidity Survey. The investigators found that among the sample, those exhibiting alcohol and substance dependence did exhibit a higher likelihood of attempting suicide. However, the authors note that for those who had underlying mental disorders in addition to such dependence, it was often impulsive suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide, and that no one type of drug was more associated with suicide than use of the alcohol or drugs itself that led directly to such attempts rather than the history of mental problems. Kessler and his colleagues also note that current use alone, with or without a history of dependence, was associated with -- with depressants and stimulants equally likely to illicit suicidal thoughts and attempts. In addition, the researchers found that substance disorders are not associated with the planning of a suicide -- as has been the traditional assumption -- but rather is more closely associated with suicidal thoughts and unplanned attempts. Dr. Kessler points out that individuals at risk for suicide learn early on that drugs dull emotional pain, failing to realize that those same drugs may heighten suicidal thoughts: unfortunately alcohol and drugs are so widely available and there's a stigma to getting professional help for emotional problems.

SOURCE/REFERENCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2000;151:781-790.