Smoking and suicidal behaviors in the National Comorbidity Survey: Replication

Controversy exists about the role of mental disorders in the consistently documented association between smoking and suicidal behavior. This controversy is addressed here with data from the nationally representative National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R). Assessments were made of 12-month s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe journal of nervous and mental disease Vol. 195; no. 5; p. 369
Main Authors Kessler, Ronald C, Berglund, Patricia A, Borges, Guilherme, Castilla-Puentes, Ruby C, Glantz, Meyer D, Jaeger, Savina A, Merikangas, Kathleen R, Nock, Matthew K, Russo, Leo J, Stang, Paul E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.05.2007
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Age Distribution
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental Disorders - psychology
Middle Aged
Models, Statistical
Odds Ratio
Prevalence
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Smoking - epidemiology
Smoking - psychology
Suicide - psychology
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
United States - epidemiology
United States
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Controversy exists about the role of mental disorders in the consistently documented association between smoking and suicidal behavior. This controversy is addressed here with data from the nationally representative National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R). Assessments were made of 12-month smoking, suicidal behaviors (ideation, plans, attempts), and DSM-IV disorders (anxiety, mood, impulse-control, and substance use disorders). Statistically significant odds ratios (2.9-3.1) were found between 12-month smoking and 12-month suicidal behaviors. However, the associations of smoking with the outcomes became insignificant with controls for DSM-IV mental disorders. Although clear adjudication among contending hypotheses about causal mechanisms cannot be made from the cross-sectional NCS-R data, the results make it clear that future research on smoking and suicidal behaviors should focus more centrally than previous research on mental disorders either as common causes, markers, or mediators.
ISSN:0022-3018
DOI:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3180303eb8