BACKGROUND: Sleep problems may lead to, or be symptomatic of, depression and other mental illnesses yet few studies have investigated their association with suicide risk. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: 393,983 men and women aged 20 or above participating in the MJ health check-up programme. RESULTS: There were 335 suicides over a mean of 7.4 years follow-up. There was a reverse J-shaped association between sleep duration and suicide risk. When compared with those sleeping 6-8 h per night the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for suicide associated with 0-4, 4-6 and >8 h sleep were 3.5 (2.0-6.1), 1.5 (1.1-1.9) and 1.5 (1.1-2.0), respectively. People requiring sleeping pills to get to sleep (1.2% participants) were at over 11-fold increased risk; difficulty falling asleep (11.5% participants), frequent dreaming (16.7%) and being easily awoken (30.6%) were associated with a 2.0-, 1.6- and 1.3-fold increased risk of suicide, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Less than 6 h sleep duration, sleep disturbances and reported use of sleep medicines are markers of suicide risk. Sleep problems should be assessed when evaluating suicide risk.
BACKGROUND: Sleep problems may lead to, or be symptomatic of, depression and other mental illnesses yet few studies have investigated their association with suicide risk. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: 393,983 men and women aged 20 or above participating in the MJ health check-up programme. RESULTS: There were 335 suicides over a mean of 7.4 years follow-up. There was a reverse J-shaped association between sleep duration and suicide risk. When compared with those sleeping 6-8 h per night the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for suicide associated with 0-4, 4-6 and >8 h sleep were 3.5 (2.0-6.1), 1.5 (1.1-1.9) and 1.5 (1.1-2.0), respectively. People requiring sleeping pills to get to sleep (1.2% participants) were at over 11-fold increased risk; difficulty falling asleep (11.5% participants), frequent dreaming (16.7%) and being easily awoken (30.6%) were associated with a 2.0-, 1.6- and 1.3-fold increased risk of suicide, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Less than 6 h sleep duration, sleep disturbances and reported use of sleep medicines are markers of suicide risk. Sleep problems should be assessed when evaluating suicide risk.
Authors: Lela R McKnight-Eily; Danice K Eaton; Richard Lowry; Janet B Croft; Letitia Presley-Cantrell; Geraldine S Perry Journal: Prev Med Date: 2011-08-05 Impact factor: 4.018
Authors: James E Gangwisch; Lindsay A Babiss; Dolores Malaspina; J Blake Turner; Gary K Zammit; Kelly Posner Journal: Sleep Date: 2010-01 Impact factor: 5.849
Authors: Carolyn L Turvey; Yeates Conwell; Michael P Jones; Caroline Phillips; Eleanor Simonsick; Jane L Pearson; Robert Wallace Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2002 Jul-Aug Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: Nathaniel F Watson; M Safwan Badr; Gregory Belenky; Donald L Bliwise; Orfeu M Buxton; Daniel Buysse; David F Dinges; James Gangwisch; Michael A Grandner; Clete Kushida; Raman K Malhotra; Jennifer L Martin; Sanjay R Patel; Stuart F Quan; Esra Tasali Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2015-08-15 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Nathaniel F Watson; M Safwan Badr; Gregory Belenky; Donald L Bliwise; Orfeu M Buxton; Daniel Buysse; David F Dinges; James Gangwisch; Michael A Grandner; Clete Kushida; Raman K Malhotra; Jennifer L Martin; Sanjay R Patel; Stuart F Quan; Esra Tasali Journal: Sleep Date: 2015-08-01 Impact factor: 5.849
Authors: Bizu Gelaye; Yasmin V Barrios; Qiu-Yue Zhong; Marta B Rondon; Christina P C Borba; Sixto E Sánchez; David C Henderson; Michelle A Williams Journal: Gen Hosp Psychiatry Date: 2015-05-06 Impact factor: 3.238
Authors: Katrijn Delaruelle; Maxim Dierckens; Ann Vandendriessche; Benedicte Deforche; Louise Poppe Journal: Qual Life Res Date: 2020-08-31 Impact factor: 4.147
Authors: Elizabeth D Ballard; Jennifer L Vande Voort; Rebecca A Bernert; David A Luckenbaugh; Erica M Richards; Mark J Niciu; Maura L Furey; Wallace C Duncan; Carlos A Zarate Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2016-06 Impact factor: 4.384