Trends in Suicidality 1 Year before and after Birth among Commercially Insured Childbearing Individuals in the United States, 2006-2017

Abstract

Importance: Suicide deaths are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the US, yet the prevalence and trends in suicidality (suicidal ideation and/or intentional self-harm) among childbearing individuals remain poorly described. Objective: To characterize trends in suicidality among childbearing individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants: This serial cross-sectional study analyzed data from a medical claims database for a large commercially insured population in the US from January 2006 to December 2017. There were 2714 diagnoses of suicidality 1 year before or after 698239 deliveries among 595237 individuals aged 15 to 44 years who were continuously enrolled in a single commercial health insurance plan. Data were analyzed from October 2019 to September 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was diagnosis of suicidality in childbearing individuals 1 year before or after birth based on the identification of relevant International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes during at least 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient visits. Results: Of 595 237 included childbearing individuals, the mean (SD) age at delivery was 31.9 (6.4) years. A total of 40568 individuals (6.8%) were Asian, 52613 (8.6%) were Black, 73172 (12.1%) were Hispanic, 369501 (63.1%) were White, and 59383 (9.5%) had unknown or missing race/ethnicity data. A total of 2683 individuals were diagnosed with suicidality 1 year before or after giving birth for a total of 2714 diagnoses. The prevalence of suicidal ideation increased from 0.1% per 100 individuals in 2006 to 0.5% per 100 individuals in 2017 (difference, 0.4%; SE, 0.03; P