The Dark Side of ADHD: Factors Associated With Suicide Attempts Among Those With ADHD in a National Representative Canadian Sample

Abstract

Aim

This study investigated the prevalence and odds of suicide attempts among adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to those without and identified factors associated with suicide attempts among adults with ADHD.

Methods

Secondary analysis of the nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health (CCHS-MH) (n = 21,744 adults, of whom 529 had ADHD). Respondents were asked whether they received an ADHD diagnosis from a health care professional. Lifetime suicide attempt was based on self-report.

Results

Adults with ADHD were much more likely to have attempted suicide than those without (14.0% vs. 2.7%). One in four women with ADHD have attempted suicide. Sixty percent of the association between ADHD and attempted suicide was attenuated when lifetime history of depression and anxiety disorders were taken into account. Female gender, lower education attainment, substance abuse, lifetime history of depression, and childhood exposure to chronic parental domestic violence were found to be independent correlates of lifetime suicide attempts among those with ADHD.

Conclusion

These findings can inform targeted screening and outreach to the most vulnerable adults with ADHD.

Keywords:

• ADHD
• gender
• suicidality
• suicide attempts

Additional information

Funding

Senyo Agbeyaka was support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant # 435-2016-0660 (PI: EFT). The authors would like to thank the staff members of the Toronto Research Data Centre RDC for assistance with access to the CCHS-MH. The Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) was supported by funds from the Social Science and Humanities research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and Statistics Canada. Although the research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada or the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) or SSHRC.