Demographic and Clinical Predictors of Suicide Risk in Pediatric Surgical Clinics: A Retrospective Study of 79,000 Screenings.

Objective: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents. Children in surgical clinics have diagnoses that may predispose mental health challenges. This study explored associations between demographics, diagnoses, and suicide risk screenings in the outpatient pediatric surgical setting.

Methods: A database of suicide risk screenings administered across a pediatric surgical health care system from 2019 to 2023 was analyzed. Demographic variables and diagnoses were collected, and multilevel logistic regression models calculated odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the relationships.

Results: In total, 79,384 suicide risk screenings were collected for 50,796 patients. 5.6% (n = 4476) were positive for suicidal thoughts. Asians were less likely to screen positive (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.56-0.76), and females were more likely (OR, 1.92; CI, 1.80-2.05). Patients with Medicaid or uninsured were more likely to screen positive (OR, 1.47; CI, 1.38-1.57 and OR, 1.17, CI, 1.002-1.36, respectively). As affluence increased, there was decreased likelihood of positive screens (OR, 0.93; CI, 0.91-0.96). The diagnosis most associated with increased risk was mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders (OR, 3.41; CI, 2.92-3.97), followed by pain (OR, 1.88; CI, 1.71-2.05), burns (OR, 1.43; CI, 1.21-1.69), and scoliosis (OR, 1.10; CI, 1.02-1.17).

Conclusion: When screening for suicide risk in outpatient pediatric surgical subspecialty clinics, females and patients with Medicaid or uninsured have increased risk of screening positive for suicidal ideations. Youth with mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders were most at risk, followed by pain, burns, and scoliosis. It is important to understand how these factors influence mental health to aid in providing resources for at-risk patients.