Data on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Reported by Seok-Jin Choi and Colleagues (Suicide Attempts in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Analysis of the Korean National Health Insurance Database): Neurodegenerative Diseases and Conditions – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

2023 SEP 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- New research on Neurodegenerative Diseases and Conditions - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is the subject of a report. According to news originating from Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The knowledge of the common risk factors for suicide attempts may not be simply applicable to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We aimed to identify risk factors associated with suicide attempts in patients with ALS and to determine the annual prevalence and periods of vulnerability associated with attempts.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research, “This nationwide cohort study was performed using the Korean National Health Insurance Database. All patients with ALS concomitantly registered for the Exempted Calculation of Health Insurance for rare, incurable diseases between 2011 and 2017 were identified. We used the Cox proportional hazards regression model and competing risk model to identify the risk factors for suicide attempts. The multivariable models were adjusted for potential risk factors from the univariate analysis. Among 2,955 incident patients, 47 attempted suicide. After adjusting for sex, previous attempts, and previous psychiatric disorders, the hazard ratios for psychiatric hospitalization before ALS diagnosis were 3.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-7.70; = .01) and 3.02 (95% CI, 1.32-6.90; = .01) in the Cox regression model and the competing risk model, respectively. The annual prevalence of suicide attempts was 0.29%-1.12%. Twenty (42.6%) and 9 (19.1%) attempts occurred within 3 months and 12-18 months after diagnosis, respectively. Psychiatric hospitalization increased the risk of suicide attempts, which clustered at the early stage or on losing autonomy.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Those with a history of psychiatric hospitalization should receive an in-depth evaluation and be cautiously monitored.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Suicide Attempts in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Analysis of the Korean National Health Insurance Database. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2023;84(6). The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry can be contacted at: Physicians Postgraduate Press, P O Box 752870, Memphis, TN 38175-2870, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Seok-Jin Choi, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include C. Hyung Keun, Ye-Jee Kim, Sung-Min Kim, Yoon-Ho Hong and Jung-Joon Sung.

The publisher’s contact information for the The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry is: Physicians Postgraduate Press, P O Box 752870, Memphis, TN 38175-2870, USA.

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