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Objectives: Most of the evidence on the effects of internet use on mental health derives from cross-sectional research. We set out to explore prospective associations between internet use (hours online and specific internet experiences) and future mental health problems. Methods: Participants were 1,431 respondents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK birth cohort, who completed a questionnaire on internet use (time online and ten different internet experiences) when they were aged 18 years. Outcomes included past year self-harm, assessed at 21 years and high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, assessed at 22 years. Associations were investigated using logistic regression models and analyses were conducted separately for males and females. Results: Females reporting high levels of internet use (number of hours online) were found to be at increased risk of depression at follow-up (highest tertile vs lowest tertile OR = 1.41, 95% CI 0.90 to 2.20), whereas males with high levels of internet use were at increased risk for self-harm (highest tertile vs lowest tertile OR = 2.53, 95%CI 0.93 to 6.90). There was no evidence to suggest an association between hours spent online and anxiety. With regards to the specific internet experiences, associations were found for females but not for males. In fully adjusted models, being bullied online (OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.86) and meeting someone face to face (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.41) were associated with an increased risk of future depression. Being bullied online was also associated with an increased risk of future self-harm (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.15), along with receiving unwanted sexual comments or material, and coming across pornography and violent/gruesome material. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of digital citizenship training to help teach young people to use technology safely and responsibly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An association of higher body mass index (BMI) with lower risk of attempted and completed suicide has been reported. In contrast, increasing BMI has been found to be associated with depression and other risk factors for suicidal behavior. We aimed to investigate this possible paradox in a cohort comprising 49 000 Swedish men. BMI, mental health, lifestyle and socioeconomic measures were recorded at conscription in 1969–70, at ages 18–20. Information on attempted suicide 1973–2008 and completed suicide 1971–2008 was obtained from national records. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. We found that each standard deviation (SD) increase in BMI was associated with a 12% lower risk of later suicide attempt (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83–0.94). Associations were somewhat weaker for completed suicide and did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.85–1.01). Adjustment for a wide range of possible confounding factors had little effect on the associations. Lower BMI at conscription was also associated with higher prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses, low emotional control and depressed mood. Our results confirm previous findings regarding the association of higher BMI with a reduced risk of suicide, extending them to show similar findings in relation to suicide attempts. The associations were little affected by adjustment for a range of possible confounding factors. However, we found no evidence that high BMI was associated with an increased risk of depression cross-sectionally or longitudinally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Up to 2% of suicides in young people may occur in clusters i.e., close together in time and space. In early 2008 unprecedented attention was given by national and international news media to a suspected suicide cluster among young people living in Bridgend, Wales. This paper investigates the strength of statistical evidence for this apparent cluster, its size, and temporal and geographical limits. Methods and findings: The analysis is based on official mortality statistics for Wales for 2000–2009 provided by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS). Temporo-spatial analysis was performed using Space Time Permutation Scan Statistics with SaTScan v9.1 for suicide deaths aged 15 and over, with a sub-group analysis focussing on cases aged 15–34 years. These analyses were conducted for deaths coded by ONS as: (i) suicide or of undetermined intent (probable suicides) and (ii) for a combination of suicide, undetermined, and accidental poisoning and hanging (possible suicides). The temporo-spatial analysis did not identify any clusters of suicide or undetermined intent deaths (probable suicides). However, analysis of all deaths by suicide, undetermined intent, accidental poisoning and accidental hanging (possible suicides) identified a temporo-spatial cluster (p = 0.029) involving 10 deaths amongst 15–34 year olds centred on the County Borough of Bridgend for the period 27th December 2007 to 19th February 2008. Less than 1% of possible suicides in younger people in Wales in the ten year period were identified as being cluster-related. Conclusions: There was a possible suicide cluster in young people in Bridgend between December 2007 and February 2008. This cluster was smaller, shorter in duration, and predominantly later than the phenomenon that was reported in national and international print media. Further investigation of factors leading to the onset and termination of this series of deaths, in particular the role of the media, is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-fatal self-harm is one of the most frequent reasons for emergency hospital admission and the strongest risk factor for subsequent suicide. Repeat self-harm and suicide are key clinical outcomes of the hospital management of self-harm. We have undertaken a comprehensive review of the international literature on the incidence of fatal and non-fatal repeat self-harm and investigated factors influencing variation in these estimates as well as changes in the incidence of repeat self-harm and suicide over the last 30 years. Methods and Findings: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, article reference lists and personal paper collections of the authors were searched for studies describing rates of fatal and non-fatal self-harm amongst people who presented to health care services for deliberate self-harm. Heterogeneity in pooled estimates of repeat self-harm incidence was investigated using stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression. The search identified 177 relevant papers. The risk of suicide in the 12 months after an index attempt was 1.6% (CI 1.2–2.4) and 3.9% (CI 3.2–4.8) after 5 years. The estimated 1 year rate of non-fatal repeat self-harm was 16.3% (CI 15.1–17.7). This proportion was considerably lower in Asian countries (10.0%, CI 7.3–13.6%) and varies between studies identifying repeat episodes using hospital admission data (13.7%, CI 12.3–15.3) and studies using patient report (21.9%, CI 14.3–32.2). There was no evidence that the incidence of repeat self-harm was lower in more recent (post 2000) studies compared to those from the 1980s and 1990s. Conclusions: One in 25 patients presenting to hospital for self-harm will kill themselves in the next 5 years. The incidence of repeat self-harm and suicide in this population has not changed in over 10 years. Different methods of identifying repeat episodes of self-harm produce varying estimates of incidence and this heterogeneity should be considered when evaluating interventions aimed at reducing non-fatal repeat self-harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the association of the intensity of newspaper reporting of charcoal burning suicide with the incidence of such deaths in Taiwan during 1998-2002. A counting process approach was used to estimate the incidence of suicides and intensity of news reporting. Conditional Poisson generalized linear autoregressive models were performed to assess the association of the intensity of newspaper reporting of charcoal burning and non-charcoal burning suicides with the actual number of charcoal burning and non-charcoal burning suicides the following day. We found that increases in the reporting of charcoal burning suicide were associated with increases in the incidence of charcoal burning suicide on the following day, with each reported charcoal burning news item being associated with a 16% increase in next day charcoal burning suicide (p,.0001). However, the reporting of other methods of suicide was not related to their incidence. We conclude that extensive media reporting of charcoal burning suicides appears to have contributed to the rapid rise in the incidence of the novel method in Taiwan during the initial stage of the suicide epidemic. Regulating media reporting of novel suicide methods may prevent an epidemic spread of such new methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) have been recognized as an important risk factor for suicidal behaviour among adults, but evidence from low and middle-income countries is lacking. This study explored associations between ACE and hospital admission due to non-fatal self-poisoning in Sri Lanka. Methods: This was a case-control study. Adults admitted to a tertiary care hospital for medical management of self-poisoning were included as cases, and age and sex matched controls were recruited from the outpatient department. ACE were measured using the World Health Organization's Childhood Adversity Scale. Logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and religion were used to quantify the association between ACE and self-poisoning. Results: The study included 235 cases and 451 controls. Cases were 2.5 times (95% CI 1.8, 3.6) more likely to report an ACE than controls and had higher ACE scores. Childhood physical abuse (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.2, 19.0) and emotional abuse or neglect (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.3, 10.1, and 3.7, 95% CI 2.3, 6.0 respectively), increased the risk of self-poisoning in adulthood, as did witnessing household violence (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4, 3.4), growing up in a household with a mentally ill or suicidal household member (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2, 3.4), and experiencing parental death/separation/divorce (OR 3.1, 95% CI 2.0, 4.9) as a child. Conclusions: Reducing exposures to ACEs should be a priority for prevention of suicide and self-harm in Sri Lanka. Innovative methods to increase support for children facing adversity should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Fig 1, the term self-harm should be self-poisoning. Reference 1 Rajapakse T, Russell AE, Kidger J, Bandara P, López-López JA, Senarathna L, et al. (2020) Childhood adversity and self-poisoning: A hospital case control study in Sri Lanka. In Fig 2 under the flowchart for cases, the number of patients admitted for self-poisoning should be 481 and the not eligible number should be 140. [Extracted from the article]

Despite accelerating interest in the impact of the internet on suicidal behaviour, empirical work has not captured detailed narratives from those who engaged in suicide-related internet use. This study explored the suicide-related online behaviour of two contrasting samples of distressed users, focusing on their purpose, methods and the main content viewed. In-depth interviews were conducted in the UK between 2014–2016 with i) young people in the community; and ii) self-harm patients presenting to hospital emergency departments. Data were analysed using methods of constant comparison. Suicide-related internet use varied according to the severity of suicidal feelings. In the young people sample, where severity was lower, use was characterised by disorganised browsing without clear purpose. A range of content was ‘stumbled upon’ including information about suicide methods. They also pursued opportunities to interact with others and explore online help. Self-harm patients were a higher severity group with a history of suicidal behaviour. Their use was purposeful and strategic, focused around ‘researching’ suicide methods to maximise effectiveness. They made specific choices about content viewed; many consulting factual content in preference to user generated accounts, while help content and communication was avoided. Findings indicate further action is necessary to improve online safety. Also, novel online help approaches are needed to engage individuals experiencing suicidal crisis. Awareness of the nature of suicide-related internet use and how this may reflect the status of an individual’s suicidal thinking could be beneficial to clinicians to promote safety and indicate risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A paucity of corroborative psychological and psychiatric evidence may be inhibiting detection of drug intoxication suicides in the United States. We evaluated the relative importance of suicide notes and psychiatric history in the classification of suicide by drug intoxication versus firearm (gunshot wound) plus hanging/suffocation—the other two major, but overtly violent methods. Methods: This observational multilevel (individual/county), multivariable study employed a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to analyze pooled suicides and undetermined intent deaths, as possible suicides, among the population aged 15 years and older in the 17 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System throughout 2011–2013. The outcome measure was relative odds of suicide versus undetermined classification, adjusted for demographics, precipitating circumstances, and investigation characteristics. Results: A suicide note, prior suicide attempt, or affective disorder was documented in less than one-third of suicides and one-quarter of undetermined deaths. The prevalence gaps were larger among drug intoxication cases than gunshot/hanging cases. The latter were more likely than intoxication cases to be classified as suicide versus undetermined manner of death (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 41.14; 95% CI, 34.43–49.15), as were cases documenting a suicide note (OR, 33.90; 95% CI, 26.11–44.05), prior suicide attempt (OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 2.11–2.77), or depression (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.38 to 1.88), or bipolar disorder (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.10–1.81). Stratification by mechanism/cause intensified the association between a note and suicide classification for intoxication cases (OR, 45.43; 95% CI, 31.06–66.58). Prior suicide attempt (OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 2.19–3.18) and depression (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.17–1.87) were associated with suicide classification in intoxication but not gunshot/hanging cases. Conclusions: Without psychological/psychiatric evidence contributing to manner of death classification, suicide by drug intoxication in the US is likely profoundly under-reported. Findings harbor adverse implications for surveillance, etiologic understanding, and prevention of suicides and drug deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effect of 3-year phased bans of the pesticides dimethoate and fenthion in 2008–2010, and paraquat in 2009–2011, on suicide mortality in Sri Lanka. Methods: Age-standardised overall, sex-specific, and method-specific suicide rates were calculated using Sri Lankan police data (1989–2015). Using negative binomial regression models, we estimated the change in the rate and number of suicide deaths in post-ban years (2011–15) compared to those expected based on pre-ban trends (2001–10). Findings: Overall suicide mortality dropped by 21% between 2011 and 2015, from 18.3 to 14.3 per 100,000. The decline in pesticide suicides during this same period was larger than for overall suicides: from 8.5 to 4.2 per 100,000, a 50% reduction. This was accompanied by a smaller concurrent rise in non-pesticide suicide mortality with a 2% increase (9.9 to 10.1 per 100,000). In 2015, the ratio between the observed and expected pesticide suicide rates was 0.49 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40, 0.62), corresponding to an estimated 937 (95% CI 574, 1389) fewer pesticide suicides than expected from pre-ban suicide rates. Findings were similar in sensitivity analyses using 2008 or 2012 as commencement of the post intervention period. Conclusion: Bans of paraquat, dimethoate and fenthion in Sri Lanka were associated with a reduction in pesticide suicide mortality and in overall suicide mortality despite a small rise in other methods. This study provides further evidence for the effectiveness of pesticide regulation in limiting the availability of highly hazardous pesticides and thereby reducing the number of global suicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical guidelines have recommended psychosocial assessment of self-harm patients for years, yet estimates of its impact on the risk of repeat self-harm vary. Assessing the association of psychosocial assessment with risk of repeat self-harm is challenging due to the effects of confounding by indication. Methods: We analysed data from a cohort study of 15,113 patients presenting to the emergency departments of three UK hospitals to investigate the association of psychosocial assessment with risk of repeat hospital presentation for self-harm. Time of day of hospital presentation was used as an instrument for psychosocial assessment, attempting to control for confounding by indication. Results: Conventional regression analysis suggested psychosocial assessment was not associated with risk of repeat self-harm within 12 months (Risk Difference (RD) 0.00 95% confidence interval (95%CI) -0.01 to 0.02). In contrast, IV analysis suggested risk of repeat self-harm was reduced by 18% (RD -0.18, 95%CI -0.32 to -0.03) in those patients receiving a psychosocial assessment. However, the instrument of time of day did not remove all potential effects of confounding by indication, suggesting the IV effect estimate may be biased. Conclusions: We found that psychosocial assessments reduce risk of repeat self-harm. This is in-line with other non-randomised studies based on populations in which allocation to assessment was less subject to confounding by indication. However, as our instrument did not fully balance important confounders across time of day, the IV effect estimate should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: While high body mass index is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety, cumulative evidence indicates that it is a protective factor for suicide. The associations from conventional observational studies of body mass index with mental health outcomes are likely to be influenced by reverse causality or confounding by ill-health. In the present study, we investigated the associations between offspring body mass index and parental anxiety, depression and suicide in order to avoid problems with reverse causality and confounding by ill-health. Methods: We used data from 32,457 mother-offspring and 27,753 father-offspring pairs from the Norwegian HUNT-study. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and suicide death from national registers. Associations between offspring and own body mass index and symptoms of anxiety and depression and suicide mortality were estimated using logistic and Cox regression. Causal effect estimates were estimated with a two sample instrument variable approach using offspring body mass index as an instrument for parental body mass index. Results: Both own and offspring body mass index were positively associated with depression, while the results did not indicate any substantial association between body mass index and anxiety. Although precision was low, suicide mortality was inversely associated with own body mass index and the results from the analysis using offspring body mass index supported these results. Adjusted odds ratios per standard deviation body mass index from the instrumental variable analysis were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.43) for depression, 1.10 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.27) for anxiety, and the instrumental variable estimated hazard ratios for suicide was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.30, 1.63). Conclusion: The present study’s results indicate that suicide mortality is inversely associated with body mass index. We also found support for a positive association between body mass index and depression, but not for anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin B-12 is essential for the development and maintenance of a healthy nervous system. Brain development occurs primarily in utero and early infancy, but the role of maternal vitamin B-12 status during pregnancy on offspring cognitive function is unclear. In this study we assessed the effect of vitamin B-12 status in well-nourished pregnant women on the cognitive ability of their offspring in a UK birth cohort (ALSPAC). We then examined the association of SNPs in maternal genes FUT2 (rs492602) and TCN2 (rs1801198, rs9606756) that are related to plasma vitamin B-12, with offspring IQ. Observationally, there was a positive association between maternal vitamin B-12 intake and child's IQ that was markedly attenuated after adjustment for potential confounders (mean difference in offspring IQ score per doubling of maternal B-12 intake, before adjustment: 2.0 (95% CI 1.3, 2.8); after adjustment: 0.7 (95% CI -0.04, 1.4)). Maternal FUT2 was weakly associated with offspring IQ: mean difference in IQ per allele was 0.9 (95% CI 0.1, 1.6). The expected effect of maternal vitamin B-12 on offspring IQ, given the relationships between SNPs and vitamin B-12, and SNPs and IQ was consistent with the observational result. Our findings suggest that maternal vitamin B-12 may not have an important effect on offspring cognitive ability. However, further examination of this issue is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Insulin and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system regulate growth and are involved in determining muscle mass, strength and body composition. We hypothesised that IGF-I and IGF-II are associated with improved, and insulin with worse, physical performance in old age. Methods: Physical performance was measured using the get-up and go timed walk and flamingo balance test at 63-86 years. We examined prospective associations of insulin, IGF-I, IGF-II and IGFBP-3 with physical performance in the UK-based Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS; n = 739 men); and cross-sectional insulin, IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 in the Boyd Orr cohort (n = 182 men, 223 women). Results: In confounder-adjusted models, there was some evidence in CaPS that a standard deviation (SD) increase in IGF-I was associated with 1.5% faster get-up and go test times (95% CI: -0.2%, 3.2%; p = 0.08), but little association with poor balance, 19 years later. Coefficients in Boyd Orr were in the same direction as CaPS, but consistent with chance. Higher levels of insulin were weakly associated with worse physical performance (CaPS and Boyd Orr combined: get-up and go time = 1.3% slower per SD log-transformed insulin; 95% CI: 0.0%, 2.7%; p = 0.07; OR poor balance 1.13; 95% CI; 0.98, 1.29; p = 0.08), although associations were attenuated after controlling for body mass index (BMI) and co-morbidities. In Boyd Orr, a one SD increase in IGFBP-2 was associated with 2.6% slower get-up and go times (95% CI: 0.4%, 4.8% slower; p = 0.02), but this was only seen when controlling for BMI and co-morbidities. There was no consistent evidence of associations of IGF-II, or IGFBP-3 with physical performance. Conclusions: There was some evidence that high IGF-I and low insulin levels in middle-age were associated with improved physical performance in old age, but estimates were imprecise. Larger cohorts are required to confirm or refute the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low muscle mass and function have been associated with poorer indicators of physical capability in older people, which are in-turn associated with increased mortality rates. The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH/IGF) axis is involved in muscle function and genetic variants in genes in the axis may influence measures of physical capability. Methods: As part of the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) programme, men and women from seven UK cohorts aged between 52 and 90 years old were genotyped for six polymorphisms: rs35767 (IGF1), rs7127900 (IGF2), rs2854744 (IGFBP3), rs2943641 (IRS1), rs2665802 (GH1) and the exon-3 deletion of GHR. The polymorphisms have previously been robustly associated with age-related traits or are potentially functional. Meta-analysis was used to pool within-study genotypic effects of the associations between the polymorphisms and four measures of physical capability: grip strength, timed walk or get up and go, chair rises and standing balance. Results: Few important associations were observed among the several tests. We found evidence that rs2665802 in GH1 was associated with inability to balance for 5 s (pooled odds ratio per minor allele = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82-0.98, p-value = 0.01, n = 10,748), after adjusting for age and sex. We found no evidence for other associations between the polymorphisms and physical capability traits. Conclusion: Our findings do not provide evidence for a substantial influence of these common polymorphisms in the GH/ IGF axis on objectively measured physical capability levels in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smokers have a higher prevalence of major depressive episodes and depressive symptoms than the general population, but whether this association is causal, or is due to confounding or reverse causation is uncertain because of the problems inherent in some epidemiological studies. Mendelian randomization, in which a genetic variant is used as a surrogate for measuring exposure, is an approach which may be used to better understand this association. We investigated the rs1051730 single nucleotide polymorphism in the nicotine acetylcholine receptor gene cluster (CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4), associated with smoking phenotypes, to determine whether women who continued to smoke were also more likely to report a low mood during pregnancy. We found among women who smoked pre-pregnancy, those with the 1051730 T allele smoked more and were less likely to quit smoking during pregnancy, but were also less likely to report high levels of depressed mood at 18 weeks of pregnancy (per allele OR = 0.84, 95%CI 0.72 to 0.99, p = 0.034). The association between genotype and depressed mood was limited to women who were smokers prior to pregnancy, with weak evidence of an interaction between smoking status and genotype (p = 0.07). Our results do not support a causal role of smoking on depressed mood, but are consistent with a self-medication hypothesis, whereby smoking is used to alleviate symptoms of depression. A replication study using multiple genetic variants which influence smoking via different pathways is required to confirm these findings and provide evidence that the genetic variant is reflecting the effect of quitting smoking on depressed mood, and is not directly affecting mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Grip strength, walking speed, chair rising and standing balance time are objective measures of physical capability that characterise current health and predict survival in older populations. Socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood may influence the peak level of physical capability achieved in early adulthood, thereby affecting levels in later adulthood. We have undertaken a systematic review with meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that adverse childhood SEP is associated with lower levels of objectively measured physical capability in adulthood. Methods and Findings: Relevant studies published by May 2010 were identified through literature searches using EMBASE and MEDLINE. Unpublished results were obtained from study investigators. Results were provided by all study investigators in a standard format and pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. 19 studies were included in the review. Total sample sizes in meta-analyses ranged from N = 17,215 for chair rise time to N = 1,061,855 for grip strength. Although heterogeneity was detected, there was consistent evidence in age adjusted models that lower childhood SEP was associated with modest reductions in physical capability levels in adulthood: comparing the lowest with the highest childhood SEP there was a reduction in grip strength of 0.13 standard deviations (95% CI: 0.06, 0.21), a reduction in mean walking speed of 0.07 m/s (0.05, 0.10), an increase in mean chair rise time of 6% (4%, 8%) and an odds ratio of an inability to balance for 5s of 1.26 (1.02, 1.55). Adjustment for the potential mediating factors, adult SEP and body size attenuated associations greatly. However, despite this attenuation, for walking speed and chair rise time, there was still evidence of moderate associations. Conclusions: Policies targeting socioeconomic inequalities in childhood may have additional benefits in promoting the maintenance of independence in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]