title: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and suicide ideation and attempts: Findings from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have an increased risk of engaging in suicidal behavior. This study examined this association in the general adult population where there has been little research.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data came from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. This was a representative sample of the English adult household population aged ≥16 years (N=7403). The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) was used to obtain information on ADHD symptoms. The Clinical Interview Schedule Revised (CIS-R) was used to assess six forms of common mental disorder (CMD). Information was also obtained on the lifetime and past 12-month occurrence of suicide ideation and attempts. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine these associations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for comorbid disorders, adults with more ADHD symptoms had significantly higher odds for suicidal behavior. When a single cut-off point was used to classify ADHD (ASRS score ≥14), odds ratios ranged from 1.62 (lifetime suicide attempt) to 2.43 (past 12-month suicide ideation). When ADHD symptoms were categorized by strata (I: a score of 0-9; II: 10-13; III: 14-17; IV: 18-24), compared to adults in stratum I, those in stratum IV had odds ratios ranging from 2.16 (lifetime suicide ideation) to 3.68 (past 12-month suicide attempt).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ADHD and suicide data came from self-reports which may have been affected by socially desirable responding.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ADHD symptoms were linked to suicidal behavior after controlling for comorbid conditions. Health care professionals should be alerted to the increased suicide risk among adults with ADHD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan; The Stockholm Center for Health and Social Change (SCOHOST), Södertörn University, Huddinge 141 89, Sweden; Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. Electronic address: andrew.stickley@sh.se.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stickley
authors.affiliation: Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Dr Antoni Pujades, 42, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona 08830, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Monforte de Lemos 3-5 Pabellón 11, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koyanagi
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala S-751 85, Sweden; Child Study Center, Yale University Medical School, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Säter Forensic Psychiatric Clinic, Säter S-783 27, Sweden.
authors.forename: Vladislav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ruchkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ADHD; APMS 2007; Common mental disorders; Suicidal ideation; Suicide attempt