Body mass index and attempted suicide: cohort study of 1,133,019 Swedish men

Batty, G.D., Whitley, E. , Kivimaki, M., Tynelius, P. and Rasmussen, F. (2010) Body mass index and attempted suicide: cohort study of 1,133,019 Swedish men. American Journal of Epidemiology, 172(8), pp. 890-899. (doi: 10.1093/aje/kwq274)

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Abstract

Associations between body mass index (BMI) and attempted (nonfatal) suicide have recently been reported. However, the few existing studies are relatively small in scale, the majority cross-sectional, and results contradictory. The authors have explored BMI–attempted suicide associations in a large cohort of 1,133,019 Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976, with BMI measured in early adulthood. During a mean follow-up of 23.9 years, a total of 18,277 (1.6%) men had at least 1 hospital admission for attempted suicide. After adjustment for confounding factors, there was a stepwise, linear decrease in attempted suicide with increasing BMI across the full BMI range (per standard deviation increase in BMI, hazard ratio = 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.91, 0.94). Analyses excluding men with depression at baseline were essentially identical to those based on the complete cohort. In men free from depression at baseline, controlling for subsequent depression slightly attenuated the raised risk of attempted suicide, particularly in lower weight men. This study suggests that lower weight men have an increased risk of attempted suicide and that associations may extend into the “normal” BMI range.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Whitley, Dr Elise and Batty, Dr G
Authors: Batty, G.D., Whitley, E., Kivimaki, M., Tynelius, P., and Rasmussen, F.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
Journal Name:American Journal of Epidemiology
Journal Abbr.:Am J Epidemiol
ISSN:0002-9262
ISSN (Online):1476-6256

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