Asthma and suicidal ideation and behavior among Puerto Rican older children and adolescents

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2013 Jul;201(7):587-91. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182982ba4.

Abstract

There is growing evidence of a positive association between asthma and suicidal ideation and behavior in the general community, although information on this potential association is scarce among older children and adolescents and Puerto Ricans, groups at risk for both conditions. Data came from wave 3 of the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of youth in the Bronx and San Juan conducted from 2000 to 2004. Logistic regressions for correlated data (Generalized Estimating Equation) were conducted, with asthma predicting suicidal ideation and behavior among participants 11 years or older. After adjustment for survey design; age; sex; poverty; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, mental disorders; cigarette smoking; and stressful life events, asthma was positively associated with suicidal ideation and behavior among the Puerto Rican older children and adolescents. Public health interventions targeting Puerto Rican older children and adolescents with asthma and future studies investigating potential biological and psychological mechanisms of association are warranted.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Asthma / ethnology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Life Change Events
  • Logistic Models
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • New York / ethnology
  • Puerto Rico / ethnology
  • Smoking / ethnology
  • Suicidal Ideation*
  • Suicide, Attempted / ethnology*