Narissa Juni
Senior private Clinic practitioner, Philippines
Title: TRENDS IN SUICIDE IDEATION AND SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AMONG FILIPINO ADOLESCENT EMERGENCY ROOM CONSULTS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL FROM 2016-2018
Biography
Biography: Narissa Juni
Abstract
Background: There has been a worldwide increase in adolescent depression and suicide rates in the recent years. This objective of this study was to describe the trends and profile of Filipino adolescents who consulted at the Pediatric Emergency Room of a tertiary hospital who presented with suicide ideation (SI), suicide attempts (SA), or mortality from suicide from 2016-2018. Methodology: This is an ecological time series study. Data was obtained by a review of the Pediatric Emergency Room census from 2016-2018. The percentage of SI and SA encounters per month were obtained by dividing the number of SI and SA encounters by the total number of encounters in each month. Monthly trends were examined using an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) linear regression model. Characteristics of the population were summarized using percentages for categorical variables. Results: The number of SI and SA encounters almost doubled over the study period, increasing from 6.5 per 10,000 in 2016 to 12.5 per 10,000 in 2018. More than half of these consults resulted in hospitalizations, with 21.9% of admissions requiring intensive care. Over this period, total annual encounters for SI and SA increased by 66.67%. Upon analysis using the AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time trend model, there is a significant increase (p-value: 0.09) in the monthly SI and SA encounters over the time period covered. This is consistent with reports of the progressively increasing prevalence of suicidality among adolescents worldwide. Other factors investigated such as sex, age, and seasonality were not significant statistically. Trends of categorical variables were consistent with worldwide adolescent populations. Conclusion: There was a significant increase in emergency room SI and SA encounters for adolescent patients over the time period of 2016-2018 in a tertiary hospital in Metro Manila, emphasizing the progressive prevalence of mental health issues among the Filipino Youth.