Recent Studies

2010

Associations Between Abortion, Mental Disorders, and Suicidal Behaviour in a Nationally Representative Sample. Mota NP, Burnett M, Sareen J. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 55, No 4, April 2010

Methods: Data came from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (n = 3310 women, aged 18 years and older). The World Health Organization–Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to assess mental disorders based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria and lifetime abortion in women. Multiple logistic regression analyses were employed to examine associations between abortion and lifetime mood, anxiety, substance use, eating, and disruptive behaviour disorders, as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. We calculated the percentage of respondents whose mental disorder came after the first abortion. The role of violence was also explored. Population attributable fractions were calculated for significant associations between abortion and mental disorders.

Results: After adjusting for sociodemographics, abortion was associated with an increased likelihood of several mental disorders—mood disorders (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] ranging from 1.75 to 1.91), anxiety disorders (AOR ranging from 1.87 to 1.91), substance use disorders (AOR ranging from 3.14 to 4.99), as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (AOR ranging from 1.97 to 2.18). Adjusting for violence weakened some of these associations. For all disorders examined, less than one-half of women reported that their mental disorder had begun after the first abortion. Population attributable fractions ranged from 5.8% (suicidal ideation) to 24.7% (drug abuse).

Conclusions: Our study confirms a strong association between abortion and mental disorders. Possible mechanisms of this relation are discussed.

Key Finding: Among the most notable findingsWomen who had abortions had:

59 percent increased risk for suicidal thoughts

61 percent increased risk for mood disorders

61 percent increased risk for social anxiety disorders

261 percent increased risk for alcohol abuse

280 percent increased risk for any substance use disorder

The researchers concluded that approximately 6 percent of suicidal ideation cases among women nationwide and 25 percent of cases of drug use could be related to abortion.