PCOS linked to higher risk of suicide attempt

Results from a retrospective cohort study suggest that people diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome have a significantly higher risk of a suicide attempt compared to people without the syndrome. The researchers call for routine monitoring of mental health and suicide risk in people diagnosed with PCOS. Researchers looked at data from 18,960 Taiwanese women aged 12 to 64 years old who were diagnosed with PCOS between 1997 and 2012. They compared the cases to control cases that were matched in age, income and level of urbanization.Those with PCOS had more than an eight times higher risk of suicide attempt compared to the control group. This increased risk remained after adjusting for demographics, psychiatric conditions and clinical visits. Young adults with PCOS had a higher risk of a suicide attempt compared to controls than other age groups.The hazard ratios for suicide attempts among different age groups were:5.38 (95% CI, 3.93 to 7.37) among adolescents with PCOS9.15 (95% CI, 8.03 to 10.42) among adults under 40 years old3.75 (95% CI, 2.23 to 6.28) among adults over 40 years oldThe high risk of suicide attempts for young adults with PCOS “may be related to the persistence of psychological distress, body dissatisfaction and reproductive concerns,” wrote lead author Dr. Tien-Wei Hsu, from the department of psychiatry at E-Da Dachang Hospital in Taiwan, and co-authors. Unemployment and concerns about fertility could also contribute to the higher risk, the authors wrote. The lower suicide risk in older adults could be due to improved hormonal levels and clinical symptoms.The authors noted that a limitation of the study was that PCOS and mental illness were potentially underestimated in the administrative data set used. The study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Read: A ‘diagnosis of exclusion’: CMAJ releases new review on PCOS

PCOS linked to higher risk of suicide attempt

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