Suicidal ideation and intentional self-inflicted injury in autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability: An examination of trends in youth emergency department visits in the United States from 2006 to 2014
Authors: Cervantes Paige E , Brown Derek S , Horwitz Sarah M 
Published: May 2022

Substantial efforts have been dedicated to understanding, assessing, and managing suicide risk in youth broadly. However, little attention has been focused specifically on autistic youth and youth with intellectual disability. Because emergency departments are an essential point of suicide-related care, we used the National Emergency Department Sample databases to explore differences in prevalence of U.S. emergency department visits with a suicidal ideation or intentional self-inflicted injury ICD-9 diagnostic code by autistic youth, youth with intellectual disability, and youth without these diagnoses (i.e. the comparison group). Emergency department visits with a suicidal ideation or intentional self-inflicted injury diagnosis were more prevalent in autistic youth (5.1%) and youth with intellectual disability (6.6%) than in the comparison group (1.2%). Similar results were found when examining visits with a suicidal ideation diagnosis and with an intentional self-inflicted injury diagnosis separately. Prevalence of these emergency department visits increased more from 2006 to 2014 in autistic youth and in youth with intellectual disability than in the comparison group and were correlated with common and distinct sociodemographic and clinical factors across groups. Results suggest autistic youth and youth with intellectual disability may be uniquely vulnerable to suicide risk, highlighting the urgency of addressing suicidality and self-harm in these groups, particularly within emergency department settings.

Lay abstract

Youth suicide is a major problem in the United States and globally, but little is known about suicide risk in autistic youth and youth with intellectual disability specifically. Using data from the National Emergency Department Sample, which is the largest database of emergency department visits in the United States, we found that emergency department visits with a suicidal ideation or intentional self-inflicted injury diagnosis were more common in autistic youth and youth with intellectual disability than in youth without these diagnoses (i.e. the comparison group). This was true when examining both suicidal ideation diagnoses and intentional self-inflicted injury diagnoses at emergency department visits. In addition, the number of emergency department visits with a suicidal ideation or intentional self-inflicted injury diagnosis increased more from 2006 to 2014 in autistic youth and youth with intellectual disability compared with the comparison group. We also found both similarities and differences when examining factors, such as age, sex, and co-occurring mental health conditions, related to emergency department visits with a suicidal ideation or intentional self-inflicted injury diagnosis across groups that may be helpful for understanding suicide risk. It is urgent that we improve our understanding, assessment, and treatment of suicidality and self-harm in these groups through more research and clinical efforts.