Suicide attempts in the adult Mexican population: an analysis of sociodemographic characteristics and associated factors

Abstract

Objective: Suicide is the culmination of a process or continuum known as suicidal behavior that proceeds from ideation and planning to attempt. The objective was to estimate the prevalence of suicide attempts in the adult Mexican population and to analyze their main associated factors. Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study with information from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2018). Self-reported lifetime suicide attempt was used in the analysis. We analyzed depression, obesity, tobacco smoking, and alcohol consumption as suicide attempt-associated factors using a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: The prevalence of adult suicide attempt was 2.0% (95%CI 1.8–2.2) and it was higher among women (2.4%; 95%CI 2.2–2.8) and young people (2.9%; 95%CI 2.4–3.4). Low education (OR=1.6; 95%CI 1.2–2.2), being single (OR=1.3; 95%CI 1.0–1.6), having obesity (OR=1.4; 95%CI 1.1–1.8), consumption of alcohol (OR=2.4; 95%CI 1.7–3.4) or tobacco smoking (OR=1.8; 95%CI 1.4–2.4), and having strong symptoms of depression (OR=10.1; 95%CI 6.2–16.3) were associated with a higher prevalence of suicide attempts. Conclusion: These results help better understand suicidal behavior in Mexico and identify the factors that increase the likelihood of suicide attempts, which is essential to help reduce suicide mortality. This research is crucial for developing early interventions and prevention programs aimed at reducing suicide’s public health burden.