A latent class analysis of health lifestyles in relation to suicidality among adolescents in Mauritius

Abstract

Suicidality, which includes suicidal thoughts, planning, and suicide attempts, results mainly from a combination of psychological, sociological, and environmental factors. Despite a high prevalence of suicidality among adolescents in Africa, only a few studies have considered these factors simultaneously. The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of suicidality, to draw up profiles of concomitant risks, and to examine the associations between these profiles and suicidality in Mauritius. This study used data from the 2017 Mauritian Global School‐based Student Health Survey including 3012 adolescents with a mean age of 14.9 ± 1.4 years. Factors related to lifestyle such as consumptions of alcohol and tobacco, physical activity, violence, parental support, anxiety, and loneliness were considered. A latent class analysis was performed to identify the pro-files. Finally, a modified Poisson regression analysis with generalized estimating equations, adjusted with sociodemographic characteristics, was used to assess the association between these profiles and suicidality. Overall, more than one in ten adolescents had at least one of the suicidality behaviors. Three profiles were identified: 1 = “low risk group” (63.9%); 2 = “problems with violence” (15.2%); 3 = “problems with violence, alcohol, tobacco and psychological distress” (20.9%). Profiles 2 and 3 were mainly made up of males. Adolescents under 15 represented the majority of individuals in profile 2. Finally, the risk of suicidality was higher in adolescents belonging to profiles 2 and 3 compared to profile 1 for the three suicidality behaviors (profile 3: Prevalence ratio (PR) for suicidal thoughts = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.19–1.34; PR for planning = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.17–1.30; PR for attempt = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.17–1.29). This study highlights the high prevalence of suicidality and a list of concomitant risks, emphasizing this suicidality in Mauritian adolescents. Therefore, these results recommend focusing preventive efforts toward a simultaneous consideration of these factors.