Suicidal Ideation in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Its Association With Clinical and Demographic Characteristics Publisher Pubmed



Bazmi E¹ ; Behnoush AH² ; Eskandarieh S¹ ; Moghadasi AN¹ ; Navardi S¹ ; Ayoubi S¹ ; Behnoush B³ ; Forouzesh M⁴ ; Sahraian MA¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Brain and Behavior Published:2025

Abstract

Background: Chronic neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are important risk factors for some psychological disorders, such as depression and consequently suicidal behavior. As suicidal ideation (SI) is one of the important factors in predicting suicide attempts and suicide deaths, the recognition of factors related to the occurrence of SI in patients with MS has high value. Objective: This study aims to assess the association between sociodemographic, psychological, and disease characteristics with SI in patients with MS. Methods: A sample of 400 subjects with MS was selected from a referral outpatient MS clinic in Tehran, Iran (2024). Participants completed a personal information questionnaire, the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and the beck scale for suicidal ideation (BSSI). Logistic regression models (univariate and multivariate) were conducted to determine the association between each variable and SI using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Finally, the correlation between depression, anxiety, and the SI scale was measured by bivariate Pearson correlation analyses. Results: The sample consisted of 77% women, and the mean age was 36.91 years. Among them, 149 (37.2%) of cases were identified with suicidal ideation at some period in life. Findings in the multivariate regression model represented that an increase in age had a significant protective effect on SI (adjusted OR [AOR] 0.95, 95% CI 0.92 to 0.98, p = 0.003). Moreover, the history of previous suicide attempts doubled the odds of SI (AOR 2.18, 95% CI 1.05 to 4.54, P = 0.038). Finally, both depression score (measured by PHQ-9) and anxiety score (measured by HADS) had significant associations with SI. Conclusion: People with MS are highly prone to suicidal thoughts and even suicide attempts; this should not be ignored in routine clinical visits due to other physical complaints. They need to be discussed with patients, and effective psychiatric interventions should be applied to reduce the risks. © 2025 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.