• Rebecca Viner, Scott B Patten, Sandra Berzins, Bulloch Andrew G M AG Department of Community Health Sciences and Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; Department of Psychiatry and Mathis, and Kirsten M Fiest.
• Department of Community Health Sciences and Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
• J Psychosom Res. 2014 Apr 1; 76 (4): 312-6.

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence, incidence and determinants of suicidal ideation in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population.MethodsA sample of 188 subjects were randomly selected from a community-based MS clinic registry and participated in as many as 13 interviews over 6 months. Thoughts of "being better off dead" or of "harming oneself" were assessed using item 9 on the Patient Health Questionnaire, Brief (PHQ-9).ResultsAt baseline, the 2-week period prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.3%. Over the course of 6 months, 22.1% of respondents reported having such thoughts at least once. Survival analysis incorporating baseline PHQ-8 scores as a covariate confirmed that being age 65 and over (HR=4.3, 95% CI 1.7-11.3) and having lower quartile self-efficacy ratings (HR=3.5, 95% CI 1.5-8.2) predicted suicidal ideation. Lower levels of task-oriented coping (treated as a continuous variable) also predicted suicidal ideation after adjustment for depressive symptoms (p=0.015), as did self-reported bladder or bowel symptoms (HR=2.6, 95% CI 1.1-6.0) and difficulties with speaking and swallowing (HR=2.9, 95% CI 1.3-6.8). Associations with MS symptoms were not confounded by depressive symptoms.ConclusionThis study identified several potentially modifiable factors that may be useful for preventing suicide in people with MS.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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