Increased risk of suicidal ideation among French women: the mediating effect of lifetime sexual victimisation. Results from the nationally representative 2017 Health Barometer survey
Abstract : Sexual victimisation
has been associated with suicidal ideation, especially among women;
however data on this association from a large sample of general
population is surprisingly limited. Also, no study quantifies sex
differences in the effect of sexual victimisation on suicide risk. We
used data from the French Health Barometer, a general population phone
survey, which recruited 25,319 adults aged 18 to 75 years in 2017. Data
were weighted to be representative of the French adult population. Three
outcomes were examined: (a) suicidal ideation in the preceding year,
(b) suicidal imagery (having thought about how to commit suicide), and
(c) suicide attempt in the preceding year. We conducted adjusted
mediation analyses, using the counterfactual approach, to evaluate the
contribution that lifetime sexual victimisation has in the association
between sex and suicide risk. Women were around five times more likely
to report lifetime sexual violence (9.1% vs 1.9%) and were more at risk
of any suicidal ideation (Ora = 1.20 (95%CI: 1.07-1.36)) and suicidal
imagery (Ora = 1.39 (95%CI: 1.20-1.61)), but not suicide attempt
compared to men in adjusted analysis. In mediation analysis, sexual
victimisation explained 49 and 40% of the increased risk women have
compared to men in suicidal ideation and suicidal imagery, respectively.
Sexual violence is more prevalent among women and explains a
substantial share of sex difference in suicide risk. Our findings
reiterate the importance of the prevention of sexual violence and an
adequate care for victims, especially women, in public health and mental
health policies and initiatives.
Keywords :
Type de document :
Article dans une revue
Domaine : Sciences du Vivant [q-bio] / Médecine humaine et pathologie / Psychiatrie et s
Fabienne El-Khoury, Meryl Puget, Christophe Leon, Enguerrand Du Roscoat,
Annie Velter, et al.. Increased risk of suicidal ideation among French
women: the mediating effect of lifetime sexual victimisation. Results
from the nationally representative 2017 Health Barometer survey. Archives of Women's Mental Health, Springer Verlag, 2020, 23 (5), pp.635-641. ⟨10.1007/s00737-020-01021-3⟩. ⟨hal-02961664⟩