Associations between time in bed and suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts in Korean adolescents

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the hypothesis that respondents with any of three specific sleep patterns would have a higher likelihood of suicidality than those without reports of these patterns in Korean adolescents.

SETTING: Data from the 2011-2013 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey were used.

PARTICIPANTS: 191,642 subjects were included. The survey's target population was students in grades 7 through 12 in South Korea.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: Sleep time.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts.

RESULTS: The odds of suicidal thoughts in subjects with very short or long time in bed were 1.487-fold higher (95% CI 1.219 to 1.815) or 0.611-fold lower (95% CI 0.460 to 0.811), respectively, than for subjects with 7 h/day in bed; the odds were similar for suicidal plans. The odds of suicidal thoughts in subjects with early or late awakening times were 1.231-fold higher (95% CI 1.050 to 1.442) or 1.528-fold lower (95% CI 1.000 to 2.334), respectively, than for subjects with 7 h/day in bed; these odds were lower for suicidal plans and attempts. The odds of suicidal thoughts in subjects with early bedtime were 1.748-fold higher (95% CI 1.302 to 2.346), the odds of suicidal plans in people with an early bedtime were 2.494-fold higher (95% CI 1.671 to 3.722) and the odds of suicide attempts in subjects with late bedtime were 1.313-fold higher (95% CI 1.005 to 1.716) than for subjects with a bedtime of 23:00.

CONCLUSIONS: The sleep-related time is associated with suicide-related behaviours in Korean adolescents. Multilateral approaches are needed to identify the greatest risk factors for suicidal behaviours.