Sight-threatening eye diseases tied to higher risk of suicide death

In South Korea, the rate of suicide is particularly increased among individuals diagnosed with sight-threatening eye disease (STED) between 2010 and 2020, reveals a study.

A total of 2.8 million people (45 percent male) were observed for 24,300,969 person-years, of which 13,205 died by suicide. Among those who committed suicide, 4,514 (34 percent) had a STED diagnosis, representing a suicide rate of 69 per 100,000 person-years (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 67‒72) relative to 51 per 100,000 person-years (95 percent CI, 50‒52) for those without a STED diagnosis.

The adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) for people with STED was 1.33 (95 percent CI, 1.26‒1.41) relative to those without. The highest excess adjusted IRR of suicide death was recorded for diabetic retinopathy (DR; IRR, 1.40, 95 percent CI, 1.29‒1.52). For exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the adjusted IRR was 1.20 (95 percent CI, 1.04‒1.39), while that for glaucoma was 1.09 (95 percent CI, 1.02‒1.17). The IRR for any STED with coexisting severe visual impairment was 1.49 (95 percent CI, 1.29‒1.73).

Notably, the highest suicide risk was observed between 3 and 6 months following a STED diagnosis (hazard ratio, 5.33, 95 percent CI, 4.59‒6.20).

In this nationwide, population-based cohort study, all adults aged ≥40 years in South Korea from 2010 to 2020 were included. The authors identified those with STEDs (ie, glaucoma, exudative AMD, or DR) using the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) service database. Both NHI health checkup records and the National Disability Registration were used for coexisting severe visual impairment.

Quasi-Poisson regressions, adjusted for sociodemographics, comorbidity, psychiatric diagnoses, and visual impairment, were used to estimate IRRs. Finally, the authors identified patients with newly diagnosed STED from 2010 to 2011 to determine the temporal relationship between time since first STED diagnosis and suicide risk.