Suicide Behavior Following PHQ-9 Screening Among Individuals With Substance Use Disorders

摘要

Objectives: Individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) are at risk for suicide, but no studies have assessed whether routinely administered screeners for suicidal ideation accurately identify outpatients with SUD who are at risk for suicide attempt or death. Methods: Data from more than 186,000 visits by over 55,000 patients with mental health and SUD diagnoses receiving care in 7 health systems were analyzed to determine whether responses to item 9 of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, which assesses frequency of thoughts of death and self-harm, are associated with suicide outcomes after an outpatient visit. Odds of suicide attempt or death were computed using generalized estimating equations. Results: In bivariate analyses, a nearly 5-fold risk was observed for patients answering “nearly every day” relative to “not at all” among individuals who made a suicide attempt within 90 days (4.9% vs 1.1%; χ~(2)?=?1151, P ?