Citation

Tseng WC, Liang YC, Su MH, Chen YL, Yang HJ, Kuo PH. Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2019; 28(5): 635-643.

Affiliation

Research Center for Genes, Environment and Human Health, National Taiwan University, 2, Xuzhou Rd., Taipei, Taiwan. phkuo@ntu.edu.tw.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00787-018-1227-8

PMID

30220076

Abstract

Suicide is a major threat to adolescent health. Sleep problems increase the risk of adolescent suicidal behavior, but the role of sleep-disordered breathing (e.g., sleep apnea) is unclear. We investigated whether sleep apnea had an effect on suicidal ideation that was independent of depression and perceived stress. We examined a series of sleep variables with suicidal ideation in 746 fifth and seventh graders using self-reported questionnaires to assess time in bed, sleep quality, insomnia, and sleep apnea while controlling depression and perceived stress. Overall, 8.8% of students aged 10-14 years reported having recent suicidal ideation, and 33% or 3.8%, depending on the screening criteria, reported having suspected sleep apnea. The sleep variables were all associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, but the magnitude of effects was largely attenuated when depression and perceived stress were included in the models. Suspected sleep apnea using daytime sleepiness as a screening criterion was independently associated with suicidal ideation (odds ratio = 2.25, p < 0.05). Suspected sleep apnea was associated with suicidal ideation that was partly independent of depression and stress, which reveals the pertinence of screening for sleep apnea among school students and designing proper prevention strategies for reducing youth suicidal behavior.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescents; Sleep; Sleep apnea; Suicidal ideation