TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying unique subgroups in suicide risks among psychiatric outpatients
AU - Namgung, Eun
AU - Ha, Eunji
AU - Yoon, Sujung
AU - Song, Yumi
AU - Lee, Hyangwon
AU - Kang, Hee Ju
AU - Han, Jung Soo
AU - Kim, Jae Min
AU - Lee, Wonhye
AU - Lyoo, In Kyoon
AU - Kim, Seog Ju
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - Background: The presence of psychiatric disorders is widely recognized as one of the primary risk factors for suicide. A significant proportion of individuals receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment exhibit varying degrees of suicidal behaviors, which may range from mild suicidal ideations to overt suicide attempts. This study aims to elucidate the transdiagnostic symptom dimensions and associated suicidal features among psychiatric outpatients. Methods: The study enrolled patients who attended the psychiatry outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital in South Korea (n = 1, 849, age range = 18–81; 61% women). A data-driven classification methodology was employed, incorporating a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, to delineate distinctive subgroups among psychiatric outpatients exhibiting suicidality (n = 1189). A reference group of patients without suicidality (n = 660) was included for comparative purposes to ascertain cluster-specific sociodemographic, suicide-related, and psychiatric characteristics. Results: Psychiatric outpatients with suicidality (n = 1189) were subdivided into three distinctive clusters: the low-suicide risk cluster (Cluster 1), the high-suicide risk externalizing cluster (Cluster 2), and the high-suicide risk internalizing cluster (Cluster 3). Relative to the reference group (n = 660), each cluster exhibited distinct attributes pertaining to suicide-related characteristics and clinical symptoms, covering domains such as anxiety, externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and feelings of hopelessness. Cluster 1, identified as the low-suicide risk group, exhibited less frequent suicidal ideation, planning, and multiple attempts. In the high-suicide risk groups, Cluster 2 displayed pronounced externalizing symptoms, whereas Cluster 3 was primarily defined by internalizing and hopelessness symptoms. Bipolar disorders were most common in Cluster 2, while depressive disorders were predominant in Cluster 3. Discussion: Our findings suggest the possibility of differentiating psychiatric outpatients into distinct, clinically relevant subgroups predicated on their suicide risk. This research potentially paves the way for personalizing interventions and preventive strategies that address cluster-specific characteristics, thereby mitigating suicide-related mortality among psychiatric outpatients.
AB - Background: The presence of psychiatric disorders is widely recognized as one of the primary risk factors for suicide. A significant proportion of individuals receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment exhibit varying degrees of suicidal behaviors, which may range from mild suicidal ideations to overt suicide attempts. This study aims to elucidate the transdiagnostic symptom dimensions and associated suicidal features among psychiatric outpatients. Methods: The study enrolled patients who attended the psychiatry outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital in South Korea (n = 1, 849, age range = 18–81; 61% women). A data-driven classification methodology was employed, incorporating a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, to delineate distinctive subgroups among psychiatric outpatients exhibiting suicidality (n = 1189). A reference group of patients without suicidality (n = 660) was included for comparative purposes to ascertain cluster-specific sociodemographic, suicide-related, and psychiatric characteristics. Results: Psychiatric outpatients with suicidality (n = 1189) were subdivided into three distinctive clusters: the low-suicide risk cluster (Cluster 1), the high-suicide risk externalizing cluster (Cluster 2), and the high-suicide risk internalizing cluster (Cluster 3). Relative to the reference group (n = 660), each cluster exhibited distinct attributes pertaining to suicide-related characteristics and clinical symptoms, covering domains such as anxiety, externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and feelings of hopelessness. Cluster 1, identified as the low-suicide risk group, exhibited less frequent suicidal ideation, planning, and multiple attempts. In the high-suicide risk groups, Cluster 2 displayed pronounced externalizing symptoms, whereas Cluster 3 was primarily defined by internalizing and hopelessness symptoms. Bipolar disorders were most common in Cluster 2, while depressive disorders were predominant in Cluster 3. Discussion: Our findings suggest the possibility of differentiating psychiatric outpatients into distinct, clinically relevant subgroups predicated on their suicide risk. This research potentially paves the way for personalizing interventions and preventive strategies that address cluster-specific characteristics, thereby mitigating suicide-related mortality among psychiatric outpatients.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Clustering
KW - Externalizing symptom
KW - Hopelessness
KW - Internalizing symptom
KW - Psychiatric outpatient
KW - Suicidality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185603047&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152463
DO - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152463
M3 - Article
C2 - 38394926
AN - SCOPUS:85185603047
SN - 0010-440X
VL - 131
JO - Comprehensive Psychiatry
JF - Comprehensive Psychiatry
M1 - 152463
ER -