PITTSBURGH — Adolescents with a history of depression have a higher chance of attempting suicide if they’ve had a concussion, a new study led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers finds.
The study, which was published July 1 in JAMA Network Open, analyzed survey responses from more than 28,000 high school students between 2017 and 2019 and found that in those who had a history of depression, concussions were the strongest predictor of also attempting suicide.
Researchers found among the same group, being Black, Latino or multiracial and having past-year concussion history increased the odds of a suicide attempt by 59%. Within that cohort, the study found that people born female had a 33% higher attempted suicide risk than their male counterparts.
