Factors Affecting Suicide Risk in People with Alcohol Use Disorder

Although heightened risk for suicide has long been associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD), questions remain about the potentially confounding influences of psychiatric comorbidities and familial factors. In this largest-ever longitudinal registry study of AUD and suicide, which included psychiatric comorbidities and co-relatives, investigators studied data on 2.23 million people born in Sweden between 1950 and 1970. Individuals with a first AUD medical-diagnosis or criminal registration before age 15 were excluded.

Overall, for individuals with AUD, suicide rates in women (3.5%) and men (3.9%) were 12 and 5 times higher than the rates in those without AUD; controlling for sociodemographic factors did not substantially alter the findings.…