JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, N.I.H., EXTRAMURAL
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Risk of suicide attempt and suicide death following completion of the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module in community practice.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between thoughts of death or self-harm reported on item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) depression module and the risk of suicide attempt or suicide death over the following 2 years.

METHOD: In 4 health care systems participating in the Mental Health Research Network, electronic records identified 509,945 adult outpatients completing 1,228,308 PHQ depression questionnaires during visits to primary care, specialty mental health, and other outpatient providers between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2012. 9,203 nonfatal suicide attempts were identified using health system records of inpatient or outpatient encounters for self-inflicted injury. 484 suicide deaths were identified using cause-of-death codes from state mortality data.

RESULTS: Cumulative hazard of suicide attempt during 2 years ranged from approximately 0.5% among those reporting thoughts of death or self-harm "not at all" to 3.5% among those reporting such thoughts "nearly every day." Cumulative hazard of suicide death during 2 years ranged from approximately 0.04% among those responding "not at all" to 0.19% among those responding "nearly every day." The excess hazard associated with thoughts of death or self-harm declined with time, but remained 2- to 5-fold higher for at least 18 months. Nevertheless, 39% of suicide attempts and 36% of suicide deaths within 30 days of completing a PHQ occurred among those responding "not at all" to item 9.

CONCLUSIONS: In community practice, response to PHQ item 9 is a strong predictor of suicide attempt and suicide death over the following 2 years. For patients reporting thoughts of death or self-harm, suicide prevention efforts must address this enduring vulnerability.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app