Connection between maternal suicide attempt and chronic morbidity in children

• Published in: Psychological medicine 2023-08, Vol.53 (11), p.5091-5098
• Main Authors: Auger, Nathalie, Low, Nancy, Ayoub, Aimina, Chang, Jungmin, Luu, Thuy Mai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Atopy; Avoidable; Caries; Childbirth & labor; Children; Children & youth; Concussion; Dental caries; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Infectious diseases; Injuries; Mental disorders; Morbidity; Mothers; Obstetrics; Original; Original Article; Poisoning; Pregnancy; Premature birth; Psychosocial factors; Regression analysis; Rural areas; Schizophrenia; Sepsis; Suicidal behavior; Suicide; Suicides & suicide attempts; Womens health
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291722002094

BackgroundMaternal suicide attempts are associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes in children, but the association with chronic morbidity is poorly understood. We examined the relationship between maternal suicide attempt and risk of hospitalization for potentially preventable conditions in offspring.MethodsWe analyzed a longitudinal cohort of 1 032 210 children born in Quebec, Canada between 2006 and 2019. The main exposure measure was maternal suicide attempt before or during pregnancy. Outcomes included child hospitalizations for potentially preventable conditions, including infectious diseases, dental caries, atopy, and injury up to 14 years after birth. We used adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of maternal suicide attempt with risk of hospitalization for these outcomes.ResultsCompared with no suicide attempt, children whose mothers attempted suicide had an increased risk of hospitalization for infectious diseases (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.16), dental caries (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15–1.48), and injury (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03–1.31). Risk of hospitalization for any of these outcomes was greater if mothers attempted suicide by hanging (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.22–1.75), had their first attempt between the age of 25 and 34 years (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13–1.42), and had 3 or more attempts (HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.27–1.91). Maternal suicide attempts were more strongly associated with child hospitalization before 10 years of age.ConclusionsChildren whose mothers have a history of suicide attempt have an elevated risk of hospitalization for potentially preventable conditions.