Gender-specific risk relationship between heavy alcohol use/alcohol use disorders and suicidal thoughts and behavior among adults in the United States over time

Purpose Suicidal thoughts and behaviors have been on the rise in the recent years in the US. There is a well-known link between heavy alcohol use/alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. An increase in the respective risk relationships is one way in which heavy alcohol use/AUDs may be driving the increase in the rate of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The objective of the current study was to investigate whether the gender-specific risk relationships between heavy alcohol use/AUDs and past-year (1) suicidal thoughts and (2) attempted suicide have increased over time. Methods Individual-level annual data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the past 12 years (2008–2019) were utilized. Year- and gender-specific multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were first conducted. Gender-stratified random-effects meta-regressions across study years were then conducted. Results Heavy alcohol use/AUDs were associated with elevated odds of past-year suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide for both men and women; however, a linear increase in the risk relationships over time was not found. Conclusion Although a temporal increase in the risk relationships of interest was not found, until additional research in this area is conducted, heavy alcohol use/AUDs cannot be ruled out as being a driving force behind the increasing rate of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the US.