Chronic Physical Illness Burden and Suicidal Ideation Among Dominicans in New York City

Emily Goldmann, Eric T. Roberts, Nina S. Parikh, Bernadette Boden-Albala

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Little is known about the association between chronic illness and suicidal ideation (SI) among Dominicans living in the United States. This study used data from a community survey of 2753 Dominican adults in New York City. SI included thoughts of self-harm or being better off dead in the past month. Chronic physical illness burden was categorized as having 0, 1, or 2+ diagnosed conditions. Adjusted logistic regressions evaluated the association between number of conditions and SI, overall and stratified by sex and age. Adjusted models yielded a strong association between chronic illness burden and SI among men [odds ratio (OR) 5.57, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 2.19–14.18] but not women (OR 0.80, 95 % CI 0.50–1.29; interaction p = 0.011). The association of interest did not differ significantly between younger and older adults. Screening for SI in health care practice, particularly among Dominican men with multiple chronic health conditions, may be warranted.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)616-622
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume19
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2017

Keywords

  • Chronic illness
  • Dominican
  • Sex differences
  • Suicidal ideation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Chronic Physical Illness Burden and Suicidal Ideation Among Dominicans in New York City'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this