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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Suicide | Research article

Are volunteering and caregiving associated with suicide risk? A Census-based longitudinal study

Authors: Michael Rosato, Foteini Tseliou, David M. Wright, Aideen Maguire, Dermot O’Reilly

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

Opposing risks have been identified between different prosocial activities, with volunteering having been linked to better mental health while caregiving has been associated with higher prevalence and incidence of depression. This study explored suicide risk of people engaged in prosocial activities of caregiving and/or volunteering.

Methods

A Census-based record linkage study of 1,018,000 people aged 25–74 years (130,816 caregivers; 110,467 volunteers; and 42,099 engaged in both) was undertaken. Caregiving (light: 1–19; intense: ≥20 h/week), volunteering and mental health status were derived from 2011 Census records. Suicide risk (45 months follow-up) was assessed using Cox models adjusted for baseline mental health.

Results

Intense caregiving was associated with worse mental health (ORadj = 1.15: 95%CI = 1.12, 1.18) and volunteering with better mental health (OR = 0.87: 95%CI = 0.84, 0.89). For those engaged in both activities, likelihood of poor mental health was determined by caregiving level. There were 528 suicides during follow-up, with those engaged in both activities having the lowest risk of suicide (HR = 0.34: 95%CI = 0.14, 0.84). Engaging in either volunteering or caregiving was associated with lower suicide risk for those with good mental health at baseline (HR = 0.66: 95%CI = 0.49, 0.88) but not for their peers with baseline poor mental health (HR = 1.02: 95%CI = 0.69, 1.51).

Conclusions

Although an increased risk of poor mental health was identified amongst caregivers, there was no evidence of an increased risk of suicide.
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Metadata
Title
Are volunteering and caregiving associated with suicide risk? A Census-based longitudinal study
Authors
Michael Rosato
Foteini Tseliou
David M. Wright
Aideen Maguire
Dermot O’Reilly
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Suicide
Suicide
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2255-8

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