Youngsters with chronic illness more likely to attempt suicide, says study

A new study finds that youngsters with asthma, diabetes and Crohn’s disease are three times more likely attempt suicide.

The study, conducted by the University of Waterloo, which involved more than 5,000 people aged between 15 to 30 found that people with chronic illnesses are more bent towards mental illness

According to experts, this could be due to lack of knowledge regarding psychiatric care to help young people deal with their illnesses.

The study found that illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and Crohn’s disease increased a young person’s odds of suicidal thought up by 28 percent and plans to die much higher with the odds of suicide attempts going up to 363 percent.

Lead author of the study Professor Mark Ferro from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences said that evidence suggested risk for suicide attempts as being highest soon after young people were diagnosed with a chronic illness.

However, he urged that the study should be seen as a critical window of opportunity for prevention and continued monitoring.

According to Ferro, chronic illness may increase risk of suicidal thoughts and create psychiatric disorder in youngsters.

The findings suggest the need for healthcare providers to consider a correlation between people with these illnesses and psychiatric problems.