Adolescent Psychiatry - Online First

Suicide is a significant health issue among young people globally. According to available statistics and research, it ranks as the third leading cause of death for individuals aged 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among students.

This study was conducted to investigate the risk of suicide and its related factors among students at Jiroft University of Medical Sciences.

The descriptive study of the current analysis is a cross-sectional type that was conducted using a multi-stage sampling method on 128 students at Jiroft University of Medical Sciences in 2022. Data were collected using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and analyzed with statistical tests of analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis in SPSS-24 statistical software.

The average age of students was 22.14 ± 2.96 years. Seventeen individuals (13.3%) had a history of suicide attempts. The average suicide risk score was 6.18 ± 5.61, indicating a high risk of suicide among students. The suicide risk score differed between individuals with strong religious beliefs and those with little belief (p=0.025). The average score for suicidal risks was lower in individuals with complete religious beliefs.

The study shows that students are at a high risk of suicide. This highlights the need to prioritize mental health, implement effective suicide prevention strategies, and personalize interventions to reduce the risk of suicide among medical students.

Anaemia is a significant health epidemic affecting all age groups, especially adults. This study aimed to identify the impact of cognitive impairment and depression levels according to potential risk factors among young anaemic adults.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 546 adults aged 17-25 years. Haemoglobin levels were measured using Sahli's method. Socio-demographic and risk factor data were collected via a questionnaire. Depression and cognitive impairment levels were assessed using the Patient Depression Questionnaire-9 (PDQ-9) and the Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ), respectively. ANOVA and Spearman's correlation were used to explore the relationship between anaemia, cognitive impairment, and depression levels. The mean age of participants was 19.41 years (SD = 1.47). Gender distribution included 204 males (mean age = 19.2 years, SD = 1.4) and 342 females (mean age = 19.5 years, SD = 1.5).

The overall prevalence of anaemia was 73.2%, with 29.4% males and 43.7% females. Most anaemic patients (52.3%) had a mild degree of anaemia. Among anaemic patients, 48.25% experienced forgetfulness, 44.25% had distractibility, 25.7% had false triggering, and 16.2% reported no cognitive issues. About 37.2% of anaemic patients fell under minimal depression.

The study concludes that there is a significant impact of anaemia on cognitive impairment and depression levels among young adults. Therefore, raising awareness about anaemia in young adults is crucial to prevent complications later in adulthood and during pregnancy.

Suicide among African American adolescents is a significant and preventable public health issue in the United States. Recently, the suicide rate among this group has significantly increased. At the same time, that for White adolescents has remained relatively stable, and those for Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other adolescents have decreased. While multiple factors influence suicidality, substance use is a significant factor that links to increased suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide. This review paper aims to discuss the relevant factors contributing to suicide and substance use among African American adolescents.

(1) The objective was to investigate (historical), socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors that contribute to higher rates of suicide and substance use among this population. (2) Explore the impact of systemic racism, poverty, and community violence on suicide and substance use in African American adolescents and (3) Identify and discuss resilience factors that can help mitigate the risks of suicide and substance use.

A qualitative review was conducted to identify selected relevant articles on suicide and substance use among African American adolescents published between 1990 and 2023 in PubMed, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, Medline, and Psychiatry Online.

Historical risk factors associated with adolescent suicide generally have not been inclusive or relevant to differing racial and ethnic backgrounds. Assessing suicidality using “common” suicide risk factors poses a major problem. It is a less reliable predictor of suicide for African American adolescents, thus leading to ineffective suicide prevention and intervention. Relevant risk factors are self-esteem, family support, racism and racial discrimination, poverty, and the intersection of different marginalized identities. The relevant protective factors are religiosity and spirituality, family support, social support, private regard/strong African American identity, and personal factors.

Research on suicide among African American adolescents is still emerging, particularly in identifying relevant risk and protective factors for accurately assessing suicidal ideation. Substance use serves as one coping mechanism for dealing with the challenges of structural racism, discrimination, and oppression.