Suicidal Ideation and Mental Health: The Moderating Effect of Coping Strategies in the Police Force

Suicide risk in patients with a current depressive episode during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on suicidality in these patients during the pandemic period remain scarce. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and variables associated with serious suicide risk in Russian inpatients with MDD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional cohort study with consecutive sampling was conducted from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. All patients completed the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) (including the suicidality module), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and underwent a semi-structured interview to collect relevant demographic and clinical data. Effect sizes for all independent variables and covariates were calculated using partial eta-squared (ηp2).

Results

Of the 6757 patients with non-psychotic mental disorders assessed, 1605 (23.7%) had MDD confirmed by the M.I.N.I., of whom 17.8% were at serious risk for suicide according to the M.I.N.I. suicidality module. Factors independently associated with serious suicide risk in Russian inpatients with MDD during the pandemic were younger age (ηp2 = 0.021), greater severity of depression (0.038), higher state anxiety (0.003), and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) (0.066). The same variables, except for state anxiety, were independently associated with suicide risk in the subgroup of MDD patients previously infected with SARS-CoV2.

Conclusion

In the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of patients with MDD at serious risk of suicide was similar to pre-pandemic data. No associations were found between suicidality in patients with MDD and COVID-related factors. Younger age, greater severity of depression, and especially NSSI were the most significant risk factors for suicide in patients with MDD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Suicide Mechanism Path of High-Suicide-Risk Adolescents-Based on Weibo Text Analysis

BACKGROUND

Adolescent suicide can have serious consequences for individuals, families and society, so we should pay attention to it. As social media becomes a platform for adolescents to share their daily lives and express their emotions, online identification and intervention of adolescent suicide problems become possible. In order to find the suicide mechanism path of high-suicide-risk adolescents, we explore the factors that influence is, especially the relations between psychological pain, hopelessness and suicide stages.

METHODS

We identified high-suicide-risk adolescents through machine learning model identification and manual identification, and used the Weibo text analysis method to explore the suicide mechanism path of high-suicide-risk adolescents.

RESULTS

Qualitative analysis showed that 36.2% of high-suicide-risk adolescents suffered from mental illness, and depression accounted for 76.3% of all mental illnesses. The mediating effect analysis showed that hopelessness played a complete mediating role between psychological pain and suicide stages. In addition, hopelessness was significantly negatively correlated with suicide stages.

CONCLUSION

mental illness (especially depression) in high-suicide-risk adolescents is closely related to suicide stages, the later the suicide stage, the higher the diagnosis rate of mental illness. The suicide mechanism path in high-suicide-risk adolescents is: psychological pain→ hopelessness → suicide stages, indicating that psychological pain mainly affects suicide risk through hopelessness. Adolescents who are later in the suicide stages have fewer expressions of hopelessness in the traditional sense.

Prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis, oral submucosal fibrosis and oral leukoplakia in doctor/nurse and police officer population

BACKGROUND

The doctor/nurse and police officer population have some common typical characteristics of great professional pressure and night shift and past studies indicated oral mucosa lesions were closely associated with psychological factors and health-risking behaviors, however the prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and the two commonly seen oral potentially malignant disorders of oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF) and oral leukoplakia in doctor/nurse and police officer in the Betel quid chewing city of Mainland China is unknown The cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence differences of RAS, oral leukoplakia and OSF among doctor/nurse, police officer and non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer population aged 20-59 years.

METHODS

RAS, OSF and oral leukoplakia were examined in doctor/nurse group (male: 659, female: 2439), police officer group (male: 839, female: 262) and non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer group (male: 7576, female: 8129) from 2020-11-01 to 2021-08-31 in Health Management Center, Xiangya Hospital in Changsha city, Hunan province.

RESULTS

The prevalence rates of RAS, OSF, oral leukoplakia and oral leukoplakia combined with OSF in male and female non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer group are 8.32‰ and 10.83‰, 58.08‰ and 1.23‰, 11.75‰ and 0.25‰, 7.66‰ and 0.12‰ respectively. Compared with the non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer population, prevalence rates of RAS in male (24.27‰) and female (20.50‰) doctor/nurse population were significantly higher. Prevalence rates of OSF (21.24‰) and oral leukoplakia (3.03‰) in male doctor/nurse population were significantly less but prevalence rates of OSF (93.71‰), oral leukoplakia (20.17‰) and oral leukoplakia combined with OSF (15.42‰) for male police officer were significantly greater in comparison with male non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer group. OSF and oral leukoplakia prevalence rates were obvious lower for the female than the counterpart male group, but there were no significant differences of OSF and oral leukoplakia prevalence rates between the female non-doctor/nurse and non-police officer and female doctor/nurse group. Oral leukoplakia was not found in the female police officers.

CONCLUSIONS

Doctor/nurse population have higher prevalence of RAS. Male doctors/nurses have lower prevalence of OSF and oral leukoplakia, while male police officers have higher prevalence of OSF, oral leukoplakia and oral leukoplakia combined with OSF.

Repercussions on work, health and family relationships of police officers wounded by gunshot to the face

Abstract This article aims to identify the profile of police officers who underwent surgery due to gunshot wounds to the face, to survey the anatomical distribution of injuries and the repercussions on their health, work and family relationships. We conducted a retrospective epidemiological study based on secondary data of police officers who underwent surgery at the Central Military Police Hospital of the state of Rio de Janeiro due to gunshot wounds to the face from June 2003 to December 2020 (N=87). We also adopted a qualitative approach by applying a questionnaire with open and closed questions (N=37) to survey repercussions of the violent event on police officers’ work, families and health. The profile of police officers who underwent surgery showed that they were exclusively males, aged 34.9 years on average, privates, and injured in the line of duty. Fractures of the mandibular region were the most frequent injuries. After the accident, physical health conditions of police officers deteriorated, including an increase in cases of hypertension, a high frequency of insomnia (59.4%), and headache (51.3%). Damaged family relationship included an increasing trend of self-isolation and a feeling of fear experienced by police officers’ family members.

Repercussions on work, health and family relationships of police officers wounded by gunshot to the face

This article aims to identify the profile of police officers who underwent surgery due to gunshot wounds to the face, to survey the anatomical distribution of injuries and the repercussions on their health, work and family relationships. We conducted a retrospective epidemiological study based on secondary data of police officers who underwent surgery at the Central Military Police Hospital of the state of Rio de Janeiro due to gunshot wounds to the face from June 2003 to December 2020 (N=87). We also adopted a qualitative approach by applying a questionnaire with open and closed questions (N=37) to survey repercussions of the violent event on police officers' work, families and health. The profile of police officers who underwent surgery showed that they were exclusively males, aged 34.9 years on average, privates, and injured in the line of duty. Fractures of the mandibular region were the most frequent injuries. After the accident, physical health conditions of police officers deteriorated, including an increase in cases of hypertension, a high frequency of insomnia (59.4%), and headache (51.3%). Damaged family relationship included an increasing trend of self-isolation and a feeling of fear experienced by police officers' family members.

Profiling Police Forces against Stress: Risk and Protective Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Burnout in Police Officers

Police officers are frequently exposed to highly stressful situations at work and have an increased risk to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout (BO). It is currently not well understood which officers are most at risk to develop these disorders. The aim of this study was to determine which coping strategies and personality traits could act as protective or risk factors in relation to PTSD and BO. The second aim, in the interest of designating preventive and therapeutical measures, was to determine whether certain profiles of police officers could be identified as high risk for developing mental disorders. Herein, 1073 French-speaking police officers in Switzerland reported in an online survey about their PTSD and BO symptoms, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, coping strategies, occupational stress, and personality factors. The cluster analysis highlighted three principal profiles of police officers: those who are not at risk of developing pathologies because they are not exposed or insensitive to these stressors, and those who are, among which personality and coping strategies oriented the risk of developing PTSD or BO. These same protective and risk factors were also corroborated in the linear and logistic regression analyses. These results may suggest that a crucial opportunity for mitigating mental health issues in the force could consist of screening recruits for risk-related personality traits and orienting them towards psychological training programs for the development of functional coping strategies.

Hopelessness in Police Officers and Its Association with Depression and Burnout: A Pilot Study

Hopelessness is a particularly critical condition and a risk factor for suicide. Many studies have reported that this condition is common in some occupations and is associated with high stress that is not properly managed. This study examined the prevalence of hopeless status (HS) in a sample of police officers (POs) and the association of hopelessness with depression, burnout, and suicidality. In total, 127 out of 231 POs participated in the survey; they were assessed with the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Beck Depression Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. A total of 26.5% of POs reported hopelessness, and a significant association was found with depression and burnout; in individual cases, these conditions were associated with suicidal thoughts. In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for confounding variables, depression, emotional exhaustion, and reduction of personal accomplishment were significantly associated with HP status. Depression (OR = 3.02, 95% CI: 1–9.12) and emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.06–3.32) significantly increased the risk of hopelessness, while personal accomplishment (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.32–1) was a protective factor. Hopelessness appears to be a very important factor to consider when assessing POs’ mental health.