Analysis on the Correlation of Passive Suicidal Ideation with Thyroid Stimulating Hormone and Prolactin among Elderly Schizophrenia Inpatients

Abstract

Background Passive suicidal ideation is a predictor of subsequent suicidal behavior, and the predictive value of objective biomarkers for suicidal ideation is attracting increasing attention. The incidence of passive suicidal ideation is relative high in elderly patients with schizophrenia. However, studies on passive suicidal ideation and biomarkers in this population are lacking. Objective To investigate the correlation of passive suicidal ideation with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin (PRL) among elderly schizophrenia inpatients. Methods A total of 248 schizophrenia inpatients aged 60 years and above from Shenzhen Kangning Hospital were retrospective included from January 2014 to October 2018 and divided into the passive suicidal ideation group (n=37) and non-passive suicidal ideation group (n=211) according to the first item of the Suicide Subscale of the Chinese Version of Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The sociodemographic characteristics, TSH, free triiodothyronine (FT3) , free total-thyroxine (FT4) and PRL levels in the two groups were collected separately. Results Univariate analysis showed that the proportions of female patients, history of attempted suicide and PRL level inpassive suicidal ideation group were higher than non-passive suicidal ideation group, while the TSH level was lower than non-passive suicidal ideation group (P<0.05) . Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that TSH level (OR=0.654) , female (OR=10.950) , history of attempted suicide (OR=15.917) , PRL level (OR=1.018) were influencing factors of passive suicidal ideation in elderly schizophrenia inpatients (P<0.05) , PRL level (OR=1.035) was an influencing factor of passive suicidal ideation in schizophrenia inpatients aged 70 years and above (P<0.05) . Conclusion Elderly schizophrenia patients who are female, have a history of attempted suicide, have lower TSH level and higher PRL level were associated with a greater risk of passive suicide ideation. Elderly schizophrenia patients aged 70 years and above with higher PRL level may be more likely to have passive suicidal ideation, suggesting that more attention should be paid to these characteristics in clinical assessments of suicide risk.

Keywords

• schizophrenia|aged|suicidal ideation|thyrotropin|prolactin|root cause analysis|logistic models