Transgender, Gender-Diverse Youth Have Five Times Higher Positive Suicide Screens in ED

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth have high rates of positive suicide risk screening in the emergency department, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in Academic Pediatrics.

Amanda Burnside, Ph.D., from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and colleagues examined the association between gender identity and suicide risk-screening results. The analysis included electronic medical record data from youth (aged 8 to 25 years) emergency department visits with suicide risk screening performed (12,112 individuals; November 2019 to August 2022).

The researchers found that 24 percent of youth had positive screens. For the 565 emergency department visits by TGD youth, 78.1 percent had positive screens and 9.5 percent had active suicidal ideation. The adjusted odds of positive screens were 5.35 times higher among visits by TGD youth and 0.45 times lower among visits by cisgender males compared with visits by cisgender females. The adjusted odds of active suicidal ideation were 34 percent higher for cisgender males compared with visits by cisgender females.

“Opportunities may be available to improve detection, evidence-based brief interventions, and linkage to mental health services for this population,” the authors write.

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