Suicidal Ideation and Self-inflicted Injury in Medicare Enrolled Autistic Adults With and Without Co-occurring Intellectual Disability

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 50; no. 10; pp. 3489 - 3495
• Main Authors: Hand, Brittany N., Benevides, Teal W., Carretta, Henry J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-10-2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Autism; Autistic adults; Autistic Disorder - diagnosis; Autistic Disorder - epidemiology; Autistic Disorder - psychology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Case-Control Studies; Child and School Psychology; Comorbidity; Federal Programs; Female; Gorillas; Health aspects; Health care; Health Services; Health services utilization; Humans; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Intellectual Disability - diagnosis; Intellectual Disability - epidemiology; Intellectual Disability - psychology; Male; Medicare; Medicare - trends; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Neurosciences; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Predictor Variables; Psychology; Public Health; Race; Risk Factors; S.I. : Suicidality and Self-harm in Autism; Self Destructive Behavior; Self injury; Self-Injurious Behavior - diagnosis; Self-Injurious Behavior - epidemiology; Self-Injurious Behavior - psychology; State Federal Aid; Statistics; Suicidal behavior; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicides & suicide attempts; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; Suicide attempts; Aging/ASD in adults; Intellectual disability; Suicidality; Adults; Suicidal ideation; Suicide
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04345-x

Suicidality is significantly more common in autistic adults than the general population, yet the factors that increase risk for suicidality among autistic adults remain largely unknown. We identified characteristics associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts/self-inflicted injury in a U.S. national sample of Medicare-enrolled autistic adults. We conducted a case–control study of autistic adults aged 18–59 years (n = 21,792). Younger age, white race, depression disorders, and psychiatric healthcare utilization were associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Co-occurring intellectual disability was associated with significantly greater odds of a suicide attempt, but lower odds of suicidal ideation. Findings underscore the need for improved methods to identify ideation prior to attempt among adults with autism and intellectual disability.