Fallacy of attributing the U.S. firearm mortality epidemic to mental health.

BACKGROUND: Annual global data on mental disorders prevalence and firearm death rates for 2000-2019, enables the U.S. to be compared with comparable counties for these metrics. METHODS: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Health Burden data were used to compare the prevalence of mental disorders with overall, homicide and suicide firearm death rates including homicides and suicides, in high sociodemographic (SDI) countries. RESULTS: Overall and in none of the nine major categories of mental disorders did the U.S. have a statistically-significant higher rate than any of 40 other high SDI countries during 2019, the last year of available data. During the same year, the U.S. had a statistically-significant higher rate of all deaths, homicides, and suicides by firearm (all p<<0.001) than all other 40 high SDI countries. Suicides accounted for most of the firearm death rate differences between the U.S. and other high SDI countries, and yet the prevalence of mental health disorders associated with suicide were not significantly difference between the U.S. and other high SDI countries. CONCLUSION: Mental disorder prevalence in the U.S. is similar in all major categories to its 40 comparable sociodemographic countries, including mental health disorders primarily associated with suicide. It cannot therefore explain the country's strikingly higher firearm death rate, including suicide. Reducing firearm prevalence, which is correlated with the country's firearm death rate, is a logical solution that has been applied by other countries.

Foreseeably Early Deaths in Patients With Psychiatric Disorders: Challenges in Caring for Patients Manifesting Likely Fatal Trajectories.

ABSTRACT: Patients with psychiatric disorders often have foreshortened lives, attributed both to "natural" medical and "unnatural" external causes of death such as suicide, homicide, and accident. Many deaths are foreseeable due to circumstances linked to patients' psychiatric disorders. These can include illness-associated disparities, adverse treatment effects, lack of self-care, and behaviors stemming directly from psychopathological processes. Whereas some of these processes contribute indirectly to patients' causes of death, others are more directly consequential, causing patients to "die from" their psychiatric disorders. Some patients manifest likely fatal trajectories that may lead to "end-stage" psychiatric disorders. Palliative approaches may optimize their quality of life and potentially alter these trajectories, but patients with psychiatric disorders are less likely to receive optimal end-of-life care. Although assuring a "good death" can be challenging, systematic efforts can assist in providing patients with psychiatric disorders deaths with dignity rather than indignity.

From dread to disorder: A meta-analysis of the impact of death anxiety on mental illness symptoms.

Growing research suggests that death anxiety may be transdiagnostic, playing a key role in the development and symptomology of psychopathology. This meta-analysis examined the relationship between death anxiety and mental illness symptoms. In total, 104 papers were included, representing cross-sectional data from 99 studies (ntotal = 24,434), and experimental data from 11 studies (ntotal = 1372). Meta-analyses of cross-sectional studies indicated a moderate correlation (r = 0.397) between death anxiety and overall mental illness symptoms. The clinical nature of the group emerged as a significant moderator of this effect. In addition, the relationship between death anxiety and mental illness symptoms was larger for clinical samples (r = 0.580), and for anxiety-related symptoms (r = 0.506) than for depression. Additional meta-analyses of 11 mortality salience studies revealed that death reminders had an overall moderate impact on clinical symptoms (Hedge's g = 0.481). The relevance of the sample to the symptom being measured significantly predicted this relationship; that is, the effect was moderate-to-large (Hedge's g = 0.671) when excluding comparison subgroups for which the effect was not predicted by the authors. The clinical nature of the sample did not significantly moderate the effect. The experimental studies were generally of higher quality and lower risk of publication bias compared to cross-sectional studies. These findings support the strong transdiagnostic role of death anxiety across numerous disorders. Clinical implications include the potential need to treat death anxiety directly, to maximise long-term therapy benefits.

Associations of asthma and psychiatric comorbidities on suicide mortality among community adolescents: A 20-year cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The role of psychiatric comorbidity as a confounder between asthma and subsequent suicide mortality in adolescents remained unclarified. METHODS: This study used a 20-year community-based cohort in Taiwan. Adolescents aged 11 to 16 from 123 schools were classified into three subgroups: current asthma (symptoms present in the past year), previous asthma (history of asthma but no symptoms in the past year), and no asthma. The mortality and medical care utilizations until the end of follow-up in 2015 were obtained. Cox proportional hazard and competing risk models were performed. Different adjustment models that included covariates of demographic status, allergy, cigarette smoking, psychiatric diagnoses, alcohol or substance misuse, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders were compared. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 285 out of 153,526 participants died from suicide. The crude hazard ratio for suicide was 1.95 (95 % CI=1.46∼2.60) in the current asthma subgroup and 2.01 (1.36∼2.97) in the previous asthma subgroup. The adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) attenuated to 1.67 (1.25∼2.24) and 1.72 (1.16∼2.54) respectively after further adjustment for all mental disorders, ADHD, substance, and alcohol use disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Our adjustment analyses stratified by different models highlight evidence of asthma as an independent risk factor that predicts suicide among adolescents. Depression and mental disorders were potential confounders and identifications of asthma and psychiatric disorders might help decrease suicide risk.

Maternal mental health as a major contributor to maternal mortality.

Perinatal mental health conditions affect up to 20 % of pregnant or postpartum individuals, and nearly 15 % of pregnant individuals meet criteria for substance use disorder (SUD). All providers taking care of pregnant or postpartum individuals will encounter patients in these scenarios. Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) have determined maternal mental health conditions, including SUD, to be the leading cause of preventable maternal death during pregnancy or in the first year postpartum. Lessons learned from MMRCs to prevent these deaths include the recommendation that screening and identification of mental health conditions need to be linked with evidence-based, patient-centered, and accessible treatments. Obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives, family medicine providers, and pediatricians, are in unique positions not only to screen and diagnose, but also to treat individuals with mental health concerns, including SUD, during pregnancy and postpartum.

Role of homelessness and psychiatric disorders in suicide deaths among veterans: A four-way decomposition analysis.

Homelessness and suicide are top priorities in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This study examined the various pathways involving homelessness, substance use, and mental health disorders in relation to suicide deaths among veterans in the VA healthcare system. A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 6,128,921 veterans-399,125 homeless and 5,729,796 non-homeless-followed-up between 2017 and 2021 using VA/Department of Defense linked databases. Multivariable Cox regression was applied for homelessness and psychiatric disorders as predictor of suicide deaths, sequentially controlling for demographic, clinical, substance use, and mental health characteristics. Four-way decomposition analysis was used to calculate proportions of suicide deaths mediated and/or moderated by homelessness, substance use, and mental health disorders. The relationship between homelessness and suicide-specific mortality risk was reduced from 40 % greater risk in unadjusted to 9 % greater risk in fully-adjusted models. Nearly 26 % of the total effect of homelessness on suicide-specific mortality risk was mediated by substance use disorders, whereas 49 % was mediated and 36 % was moderated by mental health disorders. In conclusion, excess suicide-specific mortality risk in homeless veterans is partly explained by substance use and mental health disorders, highlighting the importance of wrap-around health and social services for homeless veterans in mitigating suicide risk.

Trend in mortality from mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use in Brazil, 2010-2021.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the trend in mortality from mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use in Brazil, 2010-2021. METHODS: This was an time series study using Mortality Information System data. Annual percentage change (APC) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using Prais-Winsten linear regression. RESULTS: Mortality showed a stationary trend for Brazil as a whole (APC = 0.6; 95%CI -4.2;3.0), a falling trend in individuals aged 20-29 years in the South (APC = -7.4; 95%CI -10.0;-4.3) and Northeast (APC = -3.4; 95%CI -6.4;-0.4) regions, in people aged 30-39 in the Midwest region (APC = -3,8; 95%CI -7.4;-0.1) and 40-49 in the South (APC = -2.1; 95%CI -3.8;-0.4), North (APC = -3.1; 95%CI -5.7;-0.5) and Midwest (APC = -2.9; 95%CI -5.5;-0.3) regions. CONCLUSION: Mortality from mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use showed a stationary trend nationally and a falling trend in some age groups regionally.

Last general practitioner consultation during the final month of life: a national medical record review of suicides in Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: Individuals who die by suicide often consult their general practitioners (GPs) in their final weeks of life. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper knowledge of the clinical characteristics and GP assessments and treatments among individuals who consulted their GPs during the month preceding suicide. Further, we compared these features in those with and without contact with psychiatric services (PC and NPC, respectively) during the two years that preceded the suicide. DESIGN: A nationwide retrospective explorative study investigating medical records. SETTING: Primary care in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who died by suicide in Sweden in 2015 with a GP visit within 30 days of death. RESULTS: The study cohort corresponds to one fifth (n = 238) of all suicides that occurred in Sweden in 2015 (n = 1179), representing all those with available primary care records showing contact with a GP during the final 30 days of life (NPC: n = 125; PC: n = 113). The mean age was 58 years ± 19. Patients in the NPC group were older (NPC: 63 years ± 19 vs. PC: 53 years ± 18, p < 0.0001) and presented psychiatric symptoms less often (NPC: 50% vs. PC: 67%, p < 0.006). Somatic symptoms were as common as psychiatric symptoms for the whole sample, being present in more than half of individuals. Suicide risk was noted in only 6% of all individuals. Referral to psychiatric services occurred in 14%, less commonly for the NPC group (NPC: 6% vs. PC: 22%, p < 0.001). Cardiovascular or respiratory symptoms were noted in 19%, more often in the NPC group (NPC: 30% vs. PC: 6%, p < 0.001), as were diagnoses involving the circulatory system (all 10%, NPC:14% vs. PC: 5%, p < 0.020). CONCLUSION: A high level of somatic symptoms was observed in primary care patients both with and without psychiatric contact, and this might have influenced GPs' management decisions. Psychiatric symptoms were noted in two thirds of those with psychiatric contact but only half of those without. While GPs noted psychiatric symptoms in over half of all individuals included in the study, they seldom noted suicide risk. These findings highlight the need for increased attention to psychiatric symptoms and suicide risk assessment, particularly among middle-aged and older individuals presenting with somatic symptoms. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY: The National Cause of Death Register has excellent coverage of suicide deaths and access to medical records was very good. The medical record review provided detailed information regarding primary care utilization before death by suicide. Because of the lack of statistical power, due to the limited number of persons with GP contact during the last month of life, we chose not to correct for multiple comparisons. Our study approach did not capture the reasons behind GPs' documentation of elevated suicide risk. No systematic inter-rater reliability (IRR) testing was made, however, reviewers received training and continuous support from the research group.

Temporal trends in mortality and associated factors among persons with mental disorders: A register-based cohort study.

This study aims to examine 20-year temporal trends in all-cause mortality among psychiatric patients and investigating impacts of risk factors on the time trends based on 218,703 Finnish adults with mental disorders who were discharged from 87 psychiatric hospitals between 1 Jan 1995 and 31 Dec 2014. The age-period-cohort analysis of Poisson model with random hospital effects estimated temporal trends in death rate and associated factors at individual, healthcare system, and society levels, following the WHO multilevel intervention framework model for six major psychiatric diagnosis. The adjusted annual mortality declined by 2.2 % annually (RR: 0.978 [95 % CI 0.976-0.980]) for all individuals, and by 2.8 % after adjusting for all risk factors, with varied decreasing rate between 2.0 % and 3.6 % by diagnosis. Individual level factors accounted for the declining rate by 54.5 % for all patients, with the highest impact on patients with personality disorders, followed by patients with affective disorders and patients with schizophrenia. Identified declining trends and associated factors which are preventable and modifiable for individuals with specific psychiatric diagnosis may lead to develop targeted service and intervention strategies in bringing down mortality further for the population.

Spillover health losses of COVID-19 in China: evidence from non-COVID-19-related mortality.

OBJECTIVES: With the seeming end of the COVID-19 epidemic, international focus is rethinking its spillover consequences, such as on the routine provision and usage of healthcare. This study uses China's national death records to estimate the potential spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mortality of non-COVID diseases in China, such as chronic diseases and mental disorders. STUDY DESIGN: A longitudinal study. METHODS: Using the difference-in-difference strategy, our results showed a sizeable increase in total non-COVID deaths and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, mental diseases, and suicide. RESULTS: Notably, the deaths from diabetes and suicide increased by 4.60% and 7.08%, respectively, relative to the regions without pandemic cases in the first outbreak and escalated by 3.57% and 5.00%, respectively, when the control group switched to the same period in 2019. CONCLUSIONS: These results documented adverse spillover effects of COVID-19 on mortality of non-COVID diseases, suggesting inadequate provision and utilization of regular healthcare. The government and healthcare industry should adopt expedient policies for non-epidemic diseases and reallocate health resources to mitigate future pandemics like COVID-19.

Editorial: Can Improving Youth Mental Health Reduce Mortality?

It is well established that mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, are associated with premature mortality. A meta-analysis1 has demonstrated that this association holds across a range of diagnoses. Although the effect is stronger for schizophrenia, depression and anxiety contribute to more deaths overall because of their high prevalence rates. Moreover, more than two-thirds of associated deaths were explained by natural causes.1 The next logical questions, then, are as follows: which mechanisms underlie this association, and can they can be mitigated? In the current issue of JAACAP, Clark et al.2 aim to tie mental health symptoms and substance use to the acceleration of biological aging.

Interaction between mental disorders and social disconnectedness on mortality: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recognised importance of mental disorders and social disconnectedness for mortality, few studies have examined their co-occurrence. AIMS: To examine the interaction between mental disorders and three distinct aspects of social disconnectedness on mortality, while taking into account sex, age and characteristics of the mental disorder. METHOD: This cohort study included participants from the Danish National Health Survey in 2013 and 2017 who were followed until 2021. Survey data on social disconnectedness (loneliness, social isolation and low social support) were linked with register data on hospital-diagnosed mental disorders and mortality. Poisson regression was applied to estimate independent and joint associations with mortality, interaction contrasts and attributable proportions. RESULTS: A total of 162 497 individuals were followed for 886 614 person-years, and 9047 individuals (5.6%) died during follow-up. Among men, interaction between mental disorders and loneliness, social isolation and low social support, respectively, accounted for 47% (95% CI: 21-74%), 24% (95% CI: -15 to 63%) and 61% (95% CI: 35-86%) of the excess mortality after adjustment for demographics, country of birth, somatic morbidity, educational level, income and wealth. In contrast, among women, no excess mortality could be attributed to interaction. No clear trends were identified according to age or characteristics of the mental disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality among men, but not women, with a co-occurring mental disorder and social disconnectedness was substantially elevated compared with what was expected. Awareness of elevated mortality rates among socially disconnected men with mental disorders could be of importance to qualify and guide prevention efforts in psychiatric services.

Prevalencia de enfermedad psiquiátrica entre los suicidios consumados en la provincia de Badajoz en el periodo 2015-2017 / Prevalence of psychiatric pathology among completed suicides in the province of Badajoz in the period 2015-2017

Se realiza un estudio en 157 sujetos que durante el periodo establecido entre el 1 de julio de 2015 y el 31 de diciembre de 2017 cometieron un suicidio consumado en la provincia de Badajoz, para investigar qué porcentaje de los suicidios consumados tenían antecedentes de enfermedad mental. Los resultados indican que existe una menor relación de la esperable entre el acto suicida y la presencia de antecedentes personales psiquiátricos, ya que estos solo aparecen en dos quintas partes de la muestra. Si existen estos, el diagnóstico más frecuente es el de trastorno depresivo y el tratamiento con mayor frecuencia, antidepresivos. Estos datos contrastan con otros recogidos en la literatura que hablan de porcentajes mucho más altos de enfermedad psiquiátrica en sujetos que cometen suicidio. (AU)

A study is carried out in 157 subjects who during the period established between July 01, 2015 and December 31, 2017 committed a consummated suicide in the province of Badajoz to investigate what percentage of consummated suicides had a history of mental pathology. The results indicate that there is a lower-than-expected relationship between the suicidal act and the presence of a personal psychiatric history, as these only appear in two-fifths of the sample. If they do exist, the most frequent diagnosis is depressive disorder and the most frequent treatment is antidepressants. These data contrast with other data collected in the literature that report much higher percentages of psychiatric pathology in subjects who commit suicide. (AU)

The trends of mental disorders mortality in China over a 33-year period.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the variations in the trends of mental disorders mortality by age, period, and cohort, over a 33-year period from 1987 to 2020, to reveal the relationship between age, period, cohort, and mental disorders mortality, as well as providing guidance for resource allocation to prevent mental disorders-related deaths in vulnerable target populations. METHODS: The data of mental disorders mortality 1987-2020 were from five administrative organizations, which collected from the National Health Commission in China with national monitoring by sex and age, covering 31 provinces in China. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD), its 9th Revision (ICD-9) and its 10th Revision were used to code the mental diseases. From 1987-2002, ICD-9 was used, and ICD-10 was used from 2003 to 2020. The age standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were calculated using the World Standard Population as the reference. We used joinpoint models to assess the trends of mental disorders mortality in China for the period 1987-2020. And the age-period-cohort models were employed to estimate the age-period-cohort effect on mental disorders mortality. RESULTS: The age-standardized overall mental disorders mortality rate (ASMR) showed a downward trend from 1987 to 2020. Further, the ASMR of individuals in urban was higher than that in rural from 1987 to 2001, but, post-2002, this urban-rural disparity in ASMR showed a less clear pattern, with urban areas occasionally surpassing rural areas and vice versa. ASMR is less prevalent among females compared to males overall. The contribution of age effects to mental disorders mortality gradually increases with advancing age, the period effects of mental disorders mortality gradually decrease over time. The cohort effect's contribution to mental disorders mortality decreases in the newly born population, while in the older birth cohorts, the cohort effect's contribution to the mortality rate of mental disorders increases. CONCLUSIONS: The ASMR exhibits a decreasing trend from 1987 to 2020, and these change trend showed urban-rural and sex differences. The primary factors contributing to this overall decline are period effects and cohort effects. Our results provide valuable information for shaping mental health policies, designing targeted interventions, and preparing for future changes in disease mortality rates. The focus on different demographic factors allows for a nuanced and tailored approach to mental health promotion and intervention strategies.

Physical activity, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and death among individuals with mental or other medical disorders: A systematic review of observational studies.

A growing body of research has demonstrated the potential role for physical activity as an intervention across mental and other medical disorders. However, the association between physical activity and suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths has not been systematically appraised in clinical samples. We conducted a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for observational studies investigating the influence of physical activity on suicidal behavior up to December 6, 2023. Of 116 eligible full-text studies, seven (n = 141691) were included. Depression was the most frequently studied mental condition (43%, k = 3), followed by chronic pain as the most common other medical condition (29%, k = 2). Two case-control studies examined suicide attempts and found an association between physical activity and a reduced frequency of such attempts. However, in studies examining suicidal ideation (k = 3) or suicide deaths (k = 2), no consistent associations with physical activity were observed. Overall, our systematic review found that physical activity may be linked to a lower frequency of suicide attempts in non-prospective studies involving individuals with mental disorders.

Perinatal mental health and pregnancy-associated mortality: opportunities for change.

Perinatal mental health conditions have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal death. This quality improvement project analyzed pregnancy-associated death among veterans with mental health conditions in order to identify opportunities to improve healthcare and reduce maternal deaths. Pregnancy-associated deaths among veterans using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) maternity care benefits between fiscal year 2011 and 2020 were identified from national VHA databases. Deaths among individuals with active mental health conditions underwent individual chart review using a standardized abstraction template adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thirty-two pregnancy-associated deaths were identified among 39,720 paid deliveries with 81% (n = 26) occurring among individuals with an active perinatal mental health condition. In the perinatal mental health cohort, most deaths (n = 16, 62%) occurred in the late postpartum period and 42% (n = 11) were due to suicide, homicide, or overdose. Opportunities to improve care included addressing (1) racial disparities, (2) mental health effects of perinatal loss, (3) late postpartum vulnerability, (4) lack of psychotropic medication continuity, (5) mental health conditions in intimate partners, (6) child custody loss, (7) lack of patient education or stigmatizing patient education, and (8) missed opportunities for addressing reproductive health concerns in mental health contexts. Pregnancy-associated deaths related to active perinatal mental health conditions can be reduced. Mental healthcare clinicians, clinical teams, and healthcare systems have opportunities to improve care for individuals with perinatal mental health conditions.

The association between area-level factors and mortality in severe mental illnesses: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Premature mortality is a well-documented adverse outcome for people living with severe mental illnesses (SMI). Emerging evidence suggests that area-level factors play a role that are experienced disproportionately by this population. This review assesses the potential association between area-level factors and mortality in people with SMI. METHOD: We searched Medline, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Social Policy and Practice, Web of Science and OpenGrey databases. Literature searches were conducted in May 2020 and updated in June 2023. Reference lists were hand-searched and authors of included studies contacted to identify additional studies and minimise publication biases. Narrative synthesis was used to appraise the included studies. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019155447). RESULTS: Our searches identified 7 studies (8 papers), which were included in the review, and indicated evidence of an association between deprivation and mortality. One study suggested an association between mortality in SMI and urbanicity in low to middle income settings which was not observed in studies from high income settings. One study suggested a protective association of area-level ethnic density with mortality within urbanised settings. CONCLUSION: Consistent associations were reported between residence in areas of higher deprivation and increased risk of mortality in SMI. Two studies suggested an association between area-level ethnic density and urbanicity and mortality in SMI. Most studies were conducted across high income countries and therefore future research could benefit from similar investigations being conducted in low- and middle-income countries. These methods would inform health and social policies, including interventions to reduce premature mortality in SMI.