The impact of suicidality on health-related quality of life: A latent growth curve analysis of community-based data

•Longitudinal study of suicidality and health-related quality of life.•Suicidal ideation significantly lowered mental, not physical, HRQoL at baseline.•Mental HRQoL was poorer for those initially suicidal, remaining so over future waves.•Poorer mental HRQoL was associated with higher odds of ideation onset.•Findings help understand the HRQoL impacts of suicidality relative to other health conditions.

ObjectiveThe subjective burden of suicidality on mental and physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains to be examined. Eight-year trajectories of mental and physical components of HRQoL were compared for suicidal and non-suicidal participants at baseline. The effect of poor mental and/or physical HRQoL on subsequent suicidality was also investigated.MethodRandomly-selected community data (W1=7485; W2=6715; W3=6133) were analysed with multivariate latent growth curve (LGC) and logistic regression models.ResultsAdjusted LGC modelling identified that baseline ideation was associated with poorer mental, but better physical HRQoL at baseline (b=−3.93, 95% CI=−4.75 to −3.12; b=1.38, 95% CI=0.53-2.23, respectively). However, ideation was associated with a declining physical HRQoL trajectory over 8 subsequent years (b=−0.88, 95% CI=−1.42 to −0.35). Poorer mental HRQoL was associated with higher odds of ideation onset (OR=0.98, 95% CI=0.96-0.99).LimitationsFrequency of data collection was four-yearly, while suicidality was reported for the previous 12-months; analyses did not control for physical health problems at baseline, baseline depression may have influenced physical QoL; suicidality was assessed with binary measures; and, prior analyses of attrition over time showed those with poorer health were less likely to continue participating in the study.ConclusionsSuicidality has differential longitudinal effects on mental and physical HRQoL. Findings emphasise the considerable subjective HRQoL burden upon suicidal individuals. HRQoL may be useful to compare relative social and economical impacts.