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BACKGROUND: Students who identify with a chronic physical condition are a growing population and their conditions may be associated with poor mental well-being. AIM: To compare suicidal ideation prevalence between Canadian school-attending young adults with and without a chronic physical condition. We hypothesized that students living with a chronic condition have a higher likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a nationally representative sample of 2297 Canadian school-attending young adults (ages 15-29 years) from the 2012-13 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-MH). Survey-weighted logistic regression and sensitivity analyses were performed to estimate the likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation between students with and without a chronic physical condition. RESULTS: Approximately 14.3% (n = 329) students experienced suicidal ideation at some point. Students living with a physical chronic condition demonstrated 1.65 (95% CI: 1.14, 2.39) times higher odds of experiencing suicidal ideation, compared to students not living with a chronic physical condition. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention and health promotion are important considerations for campus health providers and administrators when planning services and accommodations for students living with chronic physical conditions.
Virk et al. (Tue,) studied this question.