Suicidal behaviors and sedentary lifestyles among adolescents: A cross-sectional epidemiological study in Latin American and Caribbean countries

OBJECTIVES: To verify the association between suicidal behaviors (ideation, planning, and attempts) and sedentary behaviors among adolescents from four Latin American and Caribbean countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Bahamas, Curação, El Salvador, and Guatemala). The sample comprised 6,813 adolescents aged 11-18 years, of which, 3,559 were females. The three suicidal behaviors considered were ideation, planning, and attempts. Sedentary behavior was regarded as the time that adolescents spent sitting, excluding time at school. Crude and adjusted logistic regression were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Suicidal ideation was present in 10.7% of males and 22.7% of females. Suicidal planning was present in 8.6% of males and 16.3% of females. Suicidal attempt was present in 9.3% of males and 16.3% of females. Sedentary behavior was present in 39.6% of males and 45.7% of females. It was identified that male adolescents who reported spending ≥3 hours/day in sedentary behavior were more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.13-1.80), whereas female adolescents who reported spending ≥3 hours/day in sedentary behavior were more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.30-1.83), planning (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.28-1.86), and attempts (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.09-1.57). CONCLUSION: Adolescents of both sexes who reported spending ≥3 hours/day in sedentary behaviors were more likely to have some suicidal behaviors than those who spent less time in sedentary behaviors.