Themes Associated with Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among People Attracted to Children.

Suicide represents a significant public health problem, with around 800,000 deaths per year worldwide and up to 20 times as many episodes of self-harm and suicide attempts. Members of stigmatized groups may experience increased risk of suicide due in part to stigma-related factors, such as expectations of rejection, internalization of negative stereotypes, or potential for greater social isolation. Research suggests that adults who are attracted to children face extreme stigma, even those who do not commit sexual crimes involving children. Adults who are attracted to children also experience significantly increased risk for suicidal ideation and behavior (SIB) compared to general population samples. The current study sought to explore experiences with SIB among adults attracted to children to better understand factors underlying suicidality in this population. The lead author conducted semi-structured interviews in a community sample of 15 adults attracted to children who self-reported some form of SIB in their lifetime. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the lead author explored and interpreted interview data to generate themes driven by respondents' characterizations of their SIB. Superordinate themes related to suicidality in this sample included low self-esteem or self-worth, cumulative impacts of the attraction and other stressors, and concerns about the ability to have a positive future due to the attraction. Findings underscore the importance of addressing internalized stigma, treating problems like depression and social isolation, and instilling hope for the future to promote mental health and prevent SIB among adults attracted to children.

Self-Esteem, Perceived Social Support, and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among Adults Attracted to Children.

Introduction: People who are attracted to children may be at elevated risk for suicidal ideation and behavior compared to the general population. However, factors associated with suicidal ideation and behavior in this population represent a gap in the literature.Methods: The current study used multilinear regression to explore the impact of self-esteem and perceived social support on suicidal ideation and behavior in a sample of 154 adults attracted to children. Mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of lifetime major depressive disorder and hopelessness in these relationships.Results: Results showed high prevalence of past-year and lifetime suicidal ideation and behavior in the sample. Both self-esteem and perceived social support demonstrated significant, inverse relationships with suicidal ideation and behavior after adjustment for covariates. Mediation analyses provided support for the role of hopelessness, but not depression, in these relationships.Conclusion: Results demonstrate high rates of suicidal ideation and behavior among adults attracted to children and highlight important opportunities for prevention and intervention. Improving self-esteem, bolstering perceived social support, reducing hopelessness, and removing barriers to help-seeking may be targets for improving mental health and preventing suicidal ideation and behavior in this population.

Suicide and the opioid overdose crisis among American Indian and Alaska Natives: a storm on two fronts demanding swift action.

The opioid crisis in the United States has received national attention and critical resources in the past decade. However, what has been overlooked is the effect the opioid crisis may be having on a three-decade suicide crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities that already have too few resources to address behavioral and mental health issues. This paper describes recent epidemiological trends associated with both opioid overdose and suicide at a national level for AIANs and the rest of the United States. We used data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to report historical trends of opioid overdose and suicide for AIAN and non-AIAN populations. We found alarming and potentially correlated trends of opioid use and suicidality among AIAN populations. We highlight both current and future research that will be essential to understanding and addressing the unique intersection between opioid and suicide risk and protective factors to inform dual prevention and intervention efforts among AIAN populations with potential relevance to public health response among other at-risk populations.

Unrecognised self-injury mortality (SIM) trends among racial/ethnic minorities and women in the USA.

AIM: To assess whether an enhanced category combining suicides with nonsuicide drug self-intoxication fatalities more effectively captures the burden of self-injury mortality (SIM) in the USA among US non-Hispanic black and Hispanic populations and women irrespective of race/ethnicity. METHODS: This observational study used deidentified national mortality data for 2008-2017 from the CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. SIM comprised suicides by any method and age at death plus estimated nonsuicide drug self-intoxication deaths at age ≥15 years. Measures were crude SIM and suicide rates; SIM-to-suicide rate ratios; and indices of premature mortality. RESULTS: While the suicide rate increased by 29% for blacks, 36% for Hispanics and 25% for non-Hispanic whites between 2008 and 2017, corresponding SIM rate increases were larger at 109%, 69% and 55% (p<0.0001). SIM:suicide rate ratio gaps were widest among blacks but similar for the other two groups. Gaps were wider for females than males, especially black females whose ratios measured ≥3.71 across the observation period versus <3.00 for white and Hispanic counterparts. Total lost years of life for Hispanic, white and black SIM decedents in 2017 were projected to be 42.6, 37.1 and 32.4, respectively. CONCLUSION: Application of SIM exposed substantial excess burdens from substance poisoning relative to suicide for minorities, particularly non-Hispanic blacks and for women generally. Results underscored the need to define, develop, implement and evaluate comprehensive strategies to address common antecedents of self-injurious behaviours.

Trichotillomania comorbidity in a sample enriched for familial obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: This study addresses the strength of associations between trichotillomania (TTM) and other DSM-IV Axis I conditions in a large sample (n = 2606) enriched for familial obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), to inform TTM classification. METHODS: We identified participants with TTM in the Johns Hopkins OCD Family Study (153 families) and the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study, a six-site genetic linkage study of OCD (487 families). We used logistic regression (with generalized estimating equations) to assess the strength of associations between TTM and other DSM-IV disorders. RESULTS: TTM had excess comorbidity with a number of conditions from different DSM-IV chapters, including tic disorders, alcohol dependence, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, impulse-control disorders, and bulimia nervosa. However, association strengths (odds ratios) were highest for kleptomania (6.6), pyromania (5.8), OCD (5.6), skin picking disorder (4.4), bulimia nervosa (3.5), and pathological nail biting (3.4). CONCLUSIONS: TTM is comorbid with a number of psychiatric conditions besides OCD, and it is strongly associated with other conditions involving impaired impulse control. Though DSM-5 includes TTM as an OCD-related disorder, its comorbidity pattern also emphasizes the impulsive, appetitive aspects of this condition that may be relevant to classification.

Urban-Rural Differences in Suicide in the State of Maryland: The Role of Firearms.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the use of firearms explains rural-urban differences in suicide rates. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on all 6196 well-characterized adult suicides in Maryland from 2003 through 2015. We computed rate ratios by using census data and then stratified by sex, with adjustment for age and race. RESULTS: Suicide rates were higher in rural compared with urban counties. However, the higher rural suicide rates were limited to firearm suicides (incident rate ratio [IRR] = 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20, 2.31). Nonfirearm suicide rates were not significantly higher in rural settings. Furthermore, 89% of firearm suicides occurred in men and the higher rural firearm suicide rate was limited to men (IRR = 1.36; 95% CI = 1.09, 1.69). Women were significantly less likely to complete suicide in rural areas (IRR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.43, 0.94), regardless of method. CONCLUSIONS: Male firearm use drives the increased rate of suicide in rural areas. The opposite associations between urbanicity and suicide in men and women may be driven by the male preference for firearms as a method for committing suicide.

Federal Firearm Licensee Rates and Suicide in Maryland, 2014 to 2019.

INTRODUCTION: Federal firearm licensee density is associated with interpersonal firearm violence. Yet the role of Federal firearm licensees in firearm suicide remains understudied, even though firearms are the method used in more than half of suicides. This study tested associations between the spatial distribution of federal firearm licensees and firearm suicides in Maryland. METHODS: Kernel density estimation measured federal firearm licensee and suicide rates at the census tract level (n=1,397), and SaTScan detected clusters of licensees and suicides. Choropleth maps compared visual associations between federal firearm licensee, firearm, and non-firearm suicide rates and clusters. Generalized estimating equations tested associations between Federal firearm licensee rates and clusters and the odds of using a firearm as the lethal means overall and after stratifying by biological sex. Data were obtained in 2020 and analyzed in 2020-2024. RESULTS: The federal firearm licensee rate was associated with greater odds of firearm suicide overall (aOR=1.29, 95% CI=1.21, 1.38, p<0.001), for men (aOR=1.29, 95% CI=1.20, 1.39, p<0.001), and for women (aOR=1.26, 95% CI=1.07, 1.49, p=0.007). Suicide decedents in a census tract located in a federal firearm licensee cluster (vs not) had higher odds of firearm use overall (aOR=1.70, 95% CI=1.28, 2.27, p<0.001) and for men (aOR=1.67, 95% CI=1.22, 2.27, p=0.001), but not for women (aOR=1.65, 95% CI=0.81, 3.34, p=0.168). CONCLUSIONS: The federal firearm licensee rate and clusters were associated with firearm suicides and unrelated to the spatial distribution of non-firearm suicides. Prevention approaches that limit the number of these federal firearm licensees or alter their sales practices, such as federal firearm licensee zoning and land use provisions, advertising restrictions, or gun shop projects, may prevent firearm suicides.

Clinician Perspectives on Suicide Safety Planning and Its Implementation.

OBJECTIVE: The safety planning intervention is an evidence-based practice shown to reduce suicide risk, but implementation of high-quality safety planning has proven challenging. We aimed to understand clinician perspectives on the safety planning intervention to inform future implementation efforts. METHOD: This cross-sectional survey of clinicians who care for patients at risk of suicide in an academic medical center asked about comfort levels and fidelity to components of the safety planning intervention and assessed implementation barriers and facilitators. We used exploratory data analysis and regression analysis to explore clinician perspectives and assess the relationship between formal training and implementation. RESULTS: Ninety-two clinicians responded to the survey. Two-thirds of participants (64.9%) endorsed using all six core elements of the safety planning intervention. Participants who reported receiving formal training in safety planning were significantly more likely to report being comfortable completing a safety plan (p < .001); those with higher levels of comfort were significantly more likely to endorse using all of the core elements of the safety planning intervention (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Training in the evidence-based safety planning intervention is associated with clinician comfort and awareness of the core elements of the intervention. Our results suggest that there are gaps in clinician training and that formal safety planning intervention training could have a positive effect on clinician comfort and treatment fidelity.

Long gun suicides in the state of Maryland following the firearm safety act of 2013.

OBJECTIVES: In 2013, the state of Maryland passed the Firearms Safety Act limiting the private sales of handguns, which did not apply to long guns often used for hunting (e.g., rifles and shotguns). This decreased the accessibility of handguns relative to long guns. We assessed the frequency of long gun suicides in the years before and after the policy change during winter season, which encompasses hunting season in Maryland. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on all 4107 well-characterized adult suicides caused by firearms in Maryland from 2003 through 2019. Logistic regression was performed, stratifying by decedent sex, race, and age. RESULTS: While handgun suicides decreased in the period after 2013's Firearm Safety Act (p < 0.008), wintertime long gun suicides increased after 2013 (p < 0.004). Caucasian race (p < 0.006), male sex (p < 0.005), and middle age (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with wintertime long gun suicides after 2013. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that while the 2013 Firearms Safety Act decreased handgun suicides significantly, it did not reduce long gun suicides and there may even have been replacement with long guns during hunting season, when rifles are out and accessible. This association was most prominent among the demographics most likely to hunt (Caucasian, middle-aged, and male).

Prevalence and Correlates of Opioid-Involved Suicides in Maryland.

OBJECTIVE: Involvement of opioids in suicides has doubled during the past two decades, worsening a major public health concern. This study examined the characteristics of opioid-involved suicides. METHODS: The sample of decedents (N = 12,038) in Maryland between 2006 and 2020 was used to compare the characteristics of opioid-involved suicides (n = 947) with suicides not involving opioids (n = 6,896) and accidental opioid deaths (n = 4,125). Direct comparisons were then made between opioid-involved suicides with and without the additional presence of non-opioid substances. RESULTS: Opioid-involved suicides were significantly more likely than suicides not involving opioids to occur among those aged 18-64 years, non-Hispanic Whites, and unemployed or disabled individuals. Opioid-involved suicides were more likely than accidental opioid deaths to occur among females, those aged <18 years, non-Hispanic Whites, and employed individuals. Of all suicides involved opioids, 45% involved other non-opioid substances. Polysubstance opioid suicides were significantly more likely than suicides involving opioids only to occur among non-Hispanic Whites. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences were observed in the demographic groups most at risk for opioid-involved suicide than other suicide or accidental opioid death. Among opioid-involved suicides, polysubstance involvement also represents a distinct group. These findings may enhance the targeting of prevention efforts.HIGHLIGHTSOpioid-involved suicides differ from other suicides or accidental opioid deaths.In opioid-involved suicides, polysubstance involvement represents a distinct group.These findings may enhance the targeting of prevention efforts.

The Protective Effect of Clozapine on Suicide: A Population Mortality Study of Statewide Autopsy Records in Maryland.

Objective: Clozapine is the most efficacious antipsychotic medication, but it is underutilized and its mechanism of action is still poorly understood. One aspect of its unique efficacy that requires further study is its effect on suicidality. A randomized controlled trial, the InterSePT study, yielded evidence that clozapine reduces suicidality more than olanzapine, after which it became the only medication indicated for recurrent suicidal behavior in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. We present here the first study of population mortality data to investigate the effect of clozapine on suicide.Methods: We reviewed statewide autopsy records of Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which performs uniquely comprehensive death investigations that include full toxicologic panels with postmortem blood levels of antipsychotics. Our study compared clozapine- and olanzapine-positive decedents across demographic, clinical, and manner-of-death outcomes using contingency table analysis and logistic regression.Results: Of 53,144 decedents from 2003 to 2021, 621 had clozapine or olanzapine detected on autopsy, with the two groups showing no demographic differences. Decedents with clozapine were significantly less likely to have died by suicide than by accident compared to those with olanzapine (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.26-0.84; P = .011).Conclusions: Our study thus adds more naturalistic evidence to the growing literature on the beneficial effect of clozapine on suicidality. Our findings also highlight the utility of statewide autopsy records, an untapped resource for investigating the potential protective effect of psychiatric medications on suicide at a population level.

Assessment of Selective and Universal Screening for Suicide Risk in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Importance: According to National Patient Safety Goal 15.01.01, all individuals being treated or evaluated for behavioral health conditions as their primary reason for care in hospitals and behavioral health care organizations accredited by The Joint Commission should be screened for suicide risk using a validated tool. Existing suicide risk screens have minimal or no high-quality evidence of association with future suicide-related outcomes. Objective: To test the association between results of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) instrument in a pediatric emergency department (ED), implemented through selective and universal screening approaches, and subsequent suicide-related outcomes. Design Setting and Participants: In this retrospective cohort study at an urban pediatric ED in the United States, the ASQ was administered to youths aged 8 to 18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems from March 18, 2013, to December 31, 2016 (selective condition), and then to youths aged 10 to 18 years with medical presenting problems (in addition to those aged 8-18 years with behavioral and psychiatric presenting problems) from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018 (universal condition). Exposure: Positive ASQ screen at baseline ED visit. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were subsequent ED visits with suicide-related presenting problems (ie, ideation or attempts) based on electronic health records and death by suicide identified through state medical examiner records. Association with suicide-related outcomes was calculated over the entire study period using survival analyses and at 3-month follow-up for both conditions using relative risk. Results: The complete sample was 15003 youths (7044 47.0%] male; 10209 [68.0%] black; mean [SD] age, 14.5 [3.1] years at baseline). The follow-up for the selective condition was a mean (SD) of 1133.7 (433.3) days; for the universal condition, it was 366.2 (209.2) days. In the selective condition, there were 275 suicide-related ED visits and 3 deaths by suicide. In the universal condition, there were 118 suicide-related ED visits and no deaths during the follow-up period. Adjusting for demographic characteristics and baseline presenting problem, positive ASQ screens were associated with greater risk of suicide-related outcomes among both the universal sample (hazard ratio, 6.8 [95% CI, 4.2-11.1]) and the selective sample (hazard ratio, 4.8 [95% CI, 3.5-6.5]). Conclusions and Relevance: Positive results of both selective and universal screening for suicide risk in pediatric EDs appear to be associated with subsequent suicidal behavior. Screening may be a particularly effective way to detect suicide risk among those who did not present with ideation or attempt. Future studies should examine the impact of screening in combination with other policies and procedures aimed at reducing suicide risk.Appeared originally in JAMA Netw Open 2019; 2:e1914070.

Demographic predictors of emergency service utilization patterns in youth at risk of suicide.

OBJECTIVE: To explore demographic predictors of Emergency Department (ED) utilization among youth with a history of suicidality (i.e., ideation or behaviors). METHODS: Electronic health records were extracted from 2017 to 2021 for 3094 8-22 year-old patients with a history of suicidality at an urban academic medical center ED in the Mid-Atlantic. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess for demographic predictors of ED utilization frequency, timing of subsequent visits, and reasons for subsequent visits over a 24-month follow-up period. RESULTS: Black race (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.11-1.92), Female sex (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.26-2.03), and having Medicaid insurance (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.37-2.14) were associated with increased utilization, while being under 18 was associated with lower utilization (<12: OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.26-0.56; 12-18: OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.35-0.63). These demographics were also associated with ED readmission within 90 days, while being under 18 was associated with a lower odds of readmission. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with a history of suicidality, those who identify as Black, young adults, patients with Medicaid, and female patients were more likely to be frequent utilizers of the ED within the 2 years following their initial visit. This pattern may suggest inadequate health care access for these groups, and a need to develop better care coordination with an intersectional focus to facilitate utilization of other health services.

Polysubstance Overdose Deaths in the Fentanyl Era: A Latent Class Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the main latent classes of substances detected among overdose decedents, and latent class associations with age, sex, race, and jurisdiction of death in Maryland. METHODS: We used toxicology data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland for all decedents. We analyzed all cases of drug overdose deaths that occurred from 2016 to 2018 (N = 6566) using latent class analysis and regression. RESULTS: Drug overdose deaths were concentrated in 2 of 24 counties in Maryland (Baltimore City and County). Fentanyl was involved in 71% of all drug overdose deaths, and the majority (76%) of these deaths included multiple substances. Three latent classes emerged: (1) fentanyl/heroin/cocaine (64%); (2) fentanyl/alcohol (18%); and (3) prescription drugs including opioids, benzodiazepines and antidepressants (18.0%). The fentanyl/heroin/cocaine class members were significantly younger (<30 years), female and White compared to the fentanyl/alcohol class, but more male and non-White than the prescription drugs class (all P < 0.05). Deaths in Baltimore City/County were more likely than in other locations to involve fentanyl/alcohol (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of fentanyl-involved overdose deaths in Maryland involved multiple substances, and several demographic and geographic differences in these patterns emerged. Geographically-targeted interventions that are tailored to reduce the harms associated with polysubstance use (including cocaine, alcohol, and prescription drugs) for different demographic groups are warranted.

Consensus-Driven Priorities for Firearm Injury Education Among Medical Professionals.

PURPOSE: Firearm injury is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. However, many medical professionals currently receive minimal or no education on firearm injury or its prevention. The authors sought to convene a diverse group of national experts in firearm injury epidemiology, injury prevention, and medical education to develop consensus on priorities to inform the creation of learning objectives and curricula for firearm injury education for medical professionals. METHOD: In 2019, the authors convened an advisory group that was geographically, demographically, and professionally diverse, composed of 33 clinicians, researchers, and educators from across the United States. They used the nominal group technique to achieve consensus on priorities for health professions education on firearm injury. The process involved an initial idea-generating phase, followed by a round-robin sharing of ideas and further idea generation, facilitated discussion and clarification, and the ranking of ideas to generate a prioritized list. RESULTS: This report provides the first national consensus guidelines on firearm injury education for medical professionals. These priorities include a set of crosscutting, basic, and advanced learning objectives applicable to all contexts of firearm injury and all medical disciplines, specialties, and levels of training. They focus on 7 contextual categories that had previously been identified in the literature: 1 category of general priorities applicable to all contexts and 6 categories of specific contexts, including intimate partner violence, mass violence, officer-involved shootings, peer (nonpartner) violence, suicide, and unintentional injury. CONCLUSIONS: Robust, data- and consensus-driven priorities for health professions education on firearm injury create a pathway to clinician competence and self-efficacy. With an improved foundation for curriculum development and educational program-building, clinicians will be better informed to engage in a host of firearm injury prevention initiatives both at the bedside and in their communities.

Association of State Social and Environmental Factors With Rates of Self-injury Mortality and Suicide in the United States.

Importance: Self-injury mortality (SIM) combines suicides and the preponderance of drug misuse-related overdose fatalities. Identifying social and environmental factors associated with SIM and suicide may inform etiologic understanding and intervention design. Objective: To identify factors associated with interstate SIM and suicide rate variation and to assess potential for differential suicide misclassification. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used a partial panel time series with underlying cause-of-death data from 50 US states and the District of Columbia for 1999-2000, 2007-2008, 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. Applying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SIM includes all suicides and the preponderance of unintentional and undetermined drug intoxication deaths, reflecting self-harm behaviors. Data were analyzed from February to June 2021. Exposures: Exposures included inequity, isolation, demographic characteristics, injury mechanism, health care access, and medicolegal death investigation system type. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome, SIM, was assessed using unstandardized regression coefficients of interstate variation associations, identified by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator; ratios of crude SIM to suicide rates per 100 000 population were assessed for potential differential suicide misclassification. Results: A total of 101 325 SIMs were identified, including 74 506 (73.5%) among males and 26 819 (26.5%) among females. SIM to suicide rate ratios trended upwards, with an accelerating increase in overdose fatalities classified as unintentional or undetermined (SIM to suicide rate ratio, 1999-2000: 1.39; 95% CI, 1.38-1.41; 2018-2019: 2.12; 95% CI, 2.11-2.14). Eight states recorded a SIM to suicide rate ratio less than 1.50 in 2018-2019 vs 39 states in 1999-2000. Northeastern states concentrated in the highest category (range, 2.10-6.00); only the West remained unrepresented. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator identified 8 factors associated with the SIM rate in 2018-2019: centralized medical examiner system (ß = 4.362), labor underutilization rate (ß = 0.728), manufacturing employment (ß = -0.056), homelessness rate (ß = -0.125), percentage nonreligious (ß = 0.041), non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity (ß = 0.087), prescribed opioids for 30 days or more (ß = 0.117), and percentage without health insurance (ß = -0.013) and 5 factors associated with the suicide rate: percentage male (ß = 1.046), military veteran (ß = 0.747), rural (ß = 0.031), firearm ownership (ß = 0.030), and pain reliever misuse (ß = 1.131). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that SIM rates were associated with modifiable, upstream factors. Although embedded in SIM, suicide unexpectedly deviated in proposed social and environmental determinants. Heterogeneity in medicolegal death investigation processes and data assurance needs further characterization, with the goal of providing the highest-quality reports for developing and tracking public health policies and practices.

Contamination-related behaviors, obsessions, and compulsions during the COVID-19 pandemic in a United States population sample.

BACKGROUND: Contamination-prevention behaviors such as mask wearing and physical distancing are crucial to reduce coronavirus transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that engagement in these behaviors could provoke obsessions and phobias in vulnerable individuals in the community. METHODS: A total of 2117 participants, systematically selected to represent the age, gender, and race distributions of the US population, completed an online survey that assessed demographic characteristics, clinical features, COVID-19 risks, and COVID-19 contamination-prevention behaviors. Logistic regression was used to estimate the magnitude of the relationships between the COVID-19 behavior score and clinically significant contamination obsessions, contamination compulsions, and pre-COVID-19 to current change in obsessive-compulsive symptom scores. RESULTS: The COVID-19 behavior score was significantly associated with contamination obsessions (odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.12-1.16; p < 0.001) and contamination phobias (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.12-1.16; p < 0.001). The COVID-19 behavior score also was associated with pre-pandemic to current increase in the overall obsessive-compulsive symptom score (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.09-1.23; p < 0.001), as well as increase in obsessive-compulsive symptom score excluding washing items (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.07-1.19; p < 0.001). The magnitude of these relationships did not appreciably change, after adjustment for other variables associated with the outcomes. Moreover, the relationship was significant in those with or without OCD, and in individuals with different levels of doubt and COVID-19 risk. CONCLUSIONS: Contamination safety measures are critical for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the community. However, they may be related to the development of contamination-related symptoms and OCD in vulnerable individuals, complicating the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders during this period.