Risk of Attempted and Completed Suicide in Persons Diagnosed With Headache

Abstract

ImportanceAlthough past research suggests an association between migraine and attempted suicide, there is limited research regarding risk of attempted and completed suicide across headache disorders.ObjectiveTo examine the risk of attempted and completed suicide associated with diagnosis of migraine, tension-type headache, posttraumatic headache, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia (TAC).Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis was a population-based cohort study of Danish citizens from 1995 to 2020. The setting was in Denmark, with a population of 5.6 million people. Persons 15 years and older who were diagnosed with headache were matched by sex and birth year to persons without headache diagnosis with a ratio of 5:1. Data analysis was conducted from May 2023 to May 2024.ExposuresFirst-time headache diagnoses identified from inpatient hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and outpatient specialty clinic visits using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes.Main Outcomes and MeasuresDiagnostic codes from the ICD-10 were used to identify attempted suicide from the Danish National Patient Registry and the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register and completed suicides from the Danish Register of Causes of Death. Absolute risks (ARs) and risk differences (RDs) for attempted and completed suicide were calculated using the cumulative incidence function. Hazard ratios (HRs) for attempted and completed suicide associated with headache diagnosis were computed adjusting for age, sex, year, education, income, baseline comorbidities, and accounting for competing risk of death.ResultsIn total, 119 486 persons (83 046 female [69.5%]) diagnosed with headache were identified and matched with 597 430 persons (415 230 female [69.5%]) drawn from the general population. Participants’ median (IQR) age was 40.1 (29.1-51.6) years. The 15-year AR of attempted suicide among persons diagnosed with headache was 0.78% (95% CI, 0.72%-0.85%) vs 0.33% (95% CI, 0.31%-0.35%) in the comparison cohort (RD, 0.45%; 95% CI, 0.39%-0.53%). The 15-year AR of completed suicide among persons diagnosed with headache was 0.21% (95% CI, 0.17%-0.24%) vs 0.15% (95% CI, 0.13%-0.16%) in the comparison cohort (RD, 0.06%; 95% CI, 0.02%-0.10%). The hazards of attempted suicide (HR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.84-2.27) and completed suicide (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.17-1.68) were elevated among persons with headache vs comparison cohort members. Findings were consistent across headache types, with stronger associations for TACs and posttraumatic headache.Conclusions and RelevanceResults of this cohort study revealing the robust and persistent association of headache diagnoses with attempted and completed suicide suggest that behavioral health evaluation and treatment may be important for these patients.