TORONTO – New research based on drug addicts in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside suggests that doctors can save lives and tweak treatment simply by asking patients if they have experienced childhood abuse. It’s these young victims who face higher risk of suicide even in adulthood, a study warns.
While volunteer subjects from the notorious strip of Vancouver’s downtown have helped scientists shed light on HIV, infectious diseases and substance abuse, the research released Thursday looks at the mental health of drug users.
Lead author Dr. Brandon Marshall says that drug addicts who are coping with childhood experiences of physical, emotional or sexual abuse have higher rates of attempting suicide than their counterparts.
Marshall, now a professor of epidemiology at Brown University’s School of Public Health, began this research as a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS.
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For five years, he surveyed 1,600 drug users from the Downtown Eastside about their feelings of depression, and whether they’ve thought about suicide and even attempted it. Subjects were also asked about their childhood experiences.
“All forms of childhood abuse remained as very high predictors of attempting suicide over the five-year follow up. That suggests to us that screening for abuse, particularly severe forms of abuse, could be a way to intervene,” Marshall told Global News.
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Over the course of the study, about 80 participants reported 97 suicide attempts. That may seem like a low number, but it’s a rate of suicide that’s five times greater than the general population.
Marshall needs to pull from the B.C. Coroner’s Service data to look at how many people actually died at the hands of suicide during his research.
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What was most striking about the findings, Marshall said, is that it was victims of “severe to extreme” abuse that had suicidal tendencies.
Those who encountered minor incidents of abuse as a child – say getting hit once or infrequent neglect – lived healthier lives than those who suffered from severe beating or growing up with emotional abuse, such as being told they’re worthless.
“What we see is that people who experience especially severe forms of abuse and trauma in their childhood have difficulty adapting throughout life. It seems to be a lasting detrimental effect throughout adulthood,” Marshall said.
The results stayed the same even after controlling for other adult factors, such as homelessness or depression.
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The takeaway message is that doctors and other health care practitioners can help patients by asking them about their childhoods.
If they encountered severe abuse, support programs and rehabilitation could include intervention that addresses suicide risk, too.
Stopping childhood abuse in its tracks would also help the cause, Marshall said.
“It’s a complicated and complex issue but it’s something that we all want to work toward,” he told Global News.
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His next steps are to look at finding ways to identify appropriate intervention in patients with a high risk of suicide. It could include social support programs that are integrated into substance abuse treatment.
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
Follow @Carmen_Chai
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