Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan-Feb;59(1):58-61.
doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2017.08.001. Epub 2017 Aug 4.

Dermatologic Conditions and Risk of Suicide: A Case-Control Study

Deepak Prabhakar  1 , Edward L Peterson  2 , Yong Hu  2 , Rebecca C Rossom  3 , Frances L Lynch  4 , Christine Y Lu  5 , Beth E Waitzfelder  6 , Ashli A Owen-Smith  7 , L Keoki Williams  2 , Arne Beck  6 , Gregory E Simon  8 , Brian K Ahmedani  2
Affiliations

Dermatologic Conditions and Risk of Suicide: A Case-Control Study

Deepak Prabhakar et al. Psychosomatics. 2018 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Background: Patients diagnosed with skin conditions have a higher risk of comorbid psychiatric conditions and suicide-related outcomes such as suicidal ideations and behaviors. There is paucity of evidence in the US general population about the risk of suicide death in patients with dermatologic conditions.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study to investigate the risk of suicide death in patients receiving care for dermatologic conditions. This study involved 8 US health systems. A total of 2674 individuals who died by suicide (cases) were matched with 267,400 general population control individuals.

Results: After adjusting for age, sex, and any mental health or substance use condition, we did not find an association between death by suicide and any skin condition including conditions where clinicians are generally concerned about the risk such as acne (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.04, p = 0.814), atopic dermatitis (aOR = 0.77, p = 0.28), and psoriasis (aOR = 0.91, p = 0.64).

Conclusion: This case-control study provides no evidence of increased risk of death by suicide in individuals with major skin disorders in the US general population.

Keywords: Skin disorders; acne; dermatitis; psoriasis; suicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Curtin SC, Warner M, Hedegaard H. Increase in suicide in the United States, 1999–2014. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] CDC National Health Report Highlights. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2014. - PubMed
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General and National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action. Washington, D.C: 2012. - PubMed
    1. Ahmedani BK, Simon GE, Stewart C, et al. Health care contacts in the year before suicide death. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2014;29(6):870–877. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ahmedani BK, Vannoy S. National pathways for suicide prevention and health services research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014;47(3S2):S222–S228. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types