Preliminary behavioral differences between Spanish adults with suicidal ideation and control population

Abstract

Background: Suicidal ideation represents a significant public health concern, serving as a crucial predictor of suicide attempts. While biological and psychological risk factors have been thoroughly delineated, the role of daily behaviors such as nutrition, oral health, physical activity, and psychological traits remains to be elucidated.

Objective: This study examined behavioral and psychological differences between Spanish adult's participants with suicidal ideation and a comparison group within a community sample. In Spain, the legal definition of “adult” is primarily determined by the age of majority, which is set at 18 years.

Methods: A total of 1,364 adults from Spain, completed an online survey assessing sociodemographic, anthropometric, nutritional, oral health, physical activity, and psychological variables. Group assignment was based on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, with 20 individuals endorsing suicidal ideation and 1,344 serving as controls. Independent t-tests compared groups with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.

Results: Compared with controls, the suicidal ideation group was younger, had lower weight and BMI, reported shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality, and more time on social media. They also reported lower water intake and vitality but higher consumption of pastries, protein shakes, and vitamin supplements, along with more frequent migraines and poorer digestion. Oral health findings were counterintuitive, with lower prevalence of gastritis, dry mouth, and dental sensitivity. No significant differences emerged in physical activity. Psychologically, the suicidal ideation group reported greater depression, stress, anxiety, loneliness, and psychological inflexibility, as well as higher neuroticism and openness, and lower extraversion and agreeableness.

Conclusions: Due to the preliminary nature of the study, these findings suggest the presence of distinct behavioral and psychological profiles associated with suicidal ideation. In light of the limited sample size, the single-item classification, and the cross-sectional self-report design, the findings must be regarded as preliminary associations.