42% of Irish adults have a mental health disorder and over 10% have attempted suicide
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More than one in 10 Irish adults have attempted to take their own lives, while over 40% have a mental health disorder, new research has found.
The study, which was carried out by academics from Maynooth University, National College of Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, is the first comprehensive assessment of the occurrence of multiple mental health disorders and attempted suicide in the Republic of Ireland.
The researchers, Dr Philip Hyland of Maynooth University, Dr Robert Fox of National College of Ireland and Dr Frédérique Vallières of Trinity College, took a sample of 1,100 adults living in Ireland, and screened people for 12 mental health disorders and asked them about lifetime history of attempted suicide.
They found that 42% of adults in Ireland met diagnostic requirements for at least one mental health disorder. The most common of these disorders was insomnia disorder, with 15% affected.
Other notable disorders were major depression disorder at 12%, alcohol use disorder at 9%, and generalized anxiety disorder at 7%.
Those who are younger in age, working in a job requiring shift work, and those who have experienced a traumatic life event were the most likely to have a mental health disorder. They also found that 11% of respondents reported having attempted suicide at some point in their lifetime.
The mental health disorders, which are most strongly associated with having attempted suicide, include psychosis, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
Dr Hyland said that the figure for those experiencing a mental health disorder (42%) is similar to what has been found in the United States and New Zealand.
Researchers also looked at the frequency of attempted suicide and how it relates to the presence of a mental health disorder.
Dr Fox said that approximately one-in-nine adults in Ireland have at some point attempted to end their own life and that having a mental health disorder makes this much more likely.
“We found that people experiencing a mental health disorder were five times more likely than those without a disorder to have attempted suicide,” he said.
Looking at who in the population may most likely have a mental health disorder, Dr Vallières said those from younger age groups were more susceptible.
“People aged 18-24 years were eight times more likely than people aged 55 and older to have a mental health disorder. Furthermore, people whose job requires shift work, and those exposed to trauma were also at greater risk of having a mental health disorder,” she said.
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