Cross-sectional assessment of diet quality in individuals with a lifetime history of attempted suicide

Increased evidence indicates an association between psychiatric disorders and dietary pattern. The objective of this study is to describe the differences in food consumption between suicide attempters and non-attempters. We analyzed the dietary information retrospectively collected from 6803 adults, aged 17 to 39 years, who also completed a mental disorder diagnostic interview as a part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. The Healthy Eating Index score was used to measure the degree of compliance with the national diet guidelines. In men, attempters (n = 92) had a high odds of low consumption of vegetables (OR = 2.47, 95%CI = 1.19, 5.15). In women, attempters (n = 275) had a high odds of insufficient fruit consumption (OR = 2.36, 95%CI = 1.15, 4.85). For both men and women, the component scores for meat were lower in non-attempters compared with attempters. On a scale of zero (no serving) to 10 (meeting the serving recommendations), the scores were 6.74 (SE: 0.39) and 7.76 (0.10), respectively, for attempters and non-attempters among men, and 5.81 (0.33) and 6.43 (0.07), respectively, for attempters and non-attempters among women. It was further observed that female attempters ate significantly less fish and seafood. These results were obtained after adjustment for various factors, including the history of medical and psychiatric illnesses. The data suggest that fruits, vegetables and meat were significantly under-consumed in adults who had ever attempted suicide. The deleterious contribution of insufficient consumption of these foods to physical and psychiatric status in attempters merits investigation. In clinical practice, psychiatrists should pay more attention to what patients eat.