SAN DIEGO—Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or bariatric surgery appear to increase the risk of suicidal ideation–and suicide attempts–in patients struggling with binge eating disorder (BED), according to a study shared during poster sessions at Psych Congress 2019.
The research estimated the incidence, per 1000 person-years, of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt during follow-up with 1042 patients diagnosed with BED and a propensity-scored matched control cohort of 10,420 people.
Overall, the incidence of suicidal ideation was 31.1 and the rate of suicide attempt was 12.7 in patients with BED, compared with 5.8 and 1.4, respectively, in matched control subjects, researchers reported.
Researchers looked at 71 patients with BED and comorbid ADHD. They found that the incidence of suicidal ideation increased to 73.5 and the incidence of suicide attempt rose to 57.2. Among 971 patients with BED without ADHD, the incidence of suicidal ideation was 29.2 and the incidence of suicide attempts was 10.7.
In 52 patients with BED and a history of bariatric surgery, the rate of suicidal ideation was 55.5, and rate of suicide attempt was 32.4. According to the poster abstract, the incidence of suicidal ideation was 29.6 and suicide attempt was 11.5 in 990 patients with BED who had never had bariatric surgery.
“Incidence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts was increased among binge eating disorder patients with comorbid ADHD and those who had bariatric surgery compared with patients without these comorbidities,” researchers wrote, “but small sample sizes limit the robustness of these findings.”
Shire sponsored the study.
