The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65573

Mary T. Glenshaw, OT/L, MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 816 South Rose St, Baltimore, MD 21224, 410-732-8289, mglensha@jhsph.edu

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in American youth and strong correlations have been found between alcohol use and suicidal behavior in adolescents of all racial and gender subgroups, while low-self esteem and bulimic eating behaviors have been associated with suicidality in adolescent girls. Data from the CDC's 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey are used to investigate associations between alcohol use and disordered eating behavior with suicidality in 11,921 teenagers. Among the 6,150 female students, 23% reported suicidal ideation and 11.6% reported suicide attempt. Among the 1,412 female students with suicidal ideation, 17% report recent bulimic behavior, 74% reported ever drinking alcohol, and 15% reported both behaviors. Among the 5,771 male students, 13.3% reported suicidal ideation 6.4% reported suicide attempt. Among the 771 males with suicidal ideation, 8.3% reported recent bulimic behavior, 90% report ever drinking alcohol, and 8% reported both behaviors. Findings indicate that alcohol use and bulimic behaviors are significantly correlated with suicidality when controlling for other known risk factors for suicide. The potential of effect modification of these factors on the risk of suicidality are presented, as are interactions with other known risk factors. Implications of the findings, that adolescents who report alcohol use and bulimic behavior are at greater suicidal risk than their peers, can contribute to suicide prevention efforts that target high school populations. Screening for eating disorders and alcohol use in high school students could capture those at risk for suicide, and prevention interventions could be implemented once these students are identified.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the participant will:
• Articulate the risks of suicide in adolescents who drink alcohol and display disordered eating behavior
• Discuss the utility of screening for alcohol and eating behaviors in adolescents as a suicide prevention approach.

Keywords: Suicide, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.