Persons diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a notable 8.47-fold increase in risk for suicide attempt.
This is according to a study – “Suicide Attempts After a Diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Cohort Study” by Tien-Wei Hsu, Yu-Chen Kao, Shih-Jen Tsai, et al – that appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers noted that there continues to be “limited evidence exists about suicide risk in persons with PCOS. And so, using data from the Taiwanese nationwide database from 1997 to 2012, they checked the records of a cohort of 18,960 patients diagnosed with PCOS, each matched with control participants in a 1:10 ratio on the basis of age, psychiatric comorbid conditions, urbanization level, and income. Suicide attempts were evaluated using Cox regression models.
While contentious, PCOS is considered by some among the intersex variations.
The researchers found:
- Participants with PCOS had a 8.47-fold increase in risk for suicide attempt compared with the control group, after adjustment for demographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbid conditions, Charlson Comorbidity Index scores, and frequency of all-cause clinical visits.
- The elevated risk was evident across the adolescent, young adult (<40 years), and older adult groups.
- Sensitivity analyses involving the exclusion of data from the first year or the first 3 years of observation yielded consistent results.
The study “underscores the heightened risk for suicide attempt that persons with PCOS face, even after adjustment for demographics, psychiatric comorbid conditions, physical conditions, and all-cause clinical visits,” the researchers stated. So for them, “this suggests the importance of routine monitoring of mental health and suicide risk in persons diagnosed with PCOS.”
