EPP411
The temporal dynamics of suicide ideation and affective, cognitive, social and contextual symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A dynamic time warp analysis.
A. J. C. Van Der Slot 1,*, C. Boonmann 2, M. Eikelenboom 3, M. W. Gijzen 4, D. De Beurs 4, E. J. Giltay 1
1Psychiatry, 2Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 3Amsterdam University Medical Center, 4University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Introduction: Suicidal ideation (SI) is a significant global mental health concern, yet the dynamic interplay between SI and other symptoms remains poorly understood. Clarifying which symptoms co-fluctuate with SI over time may help identify early warning signals and actionable intervention targets.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine which affective, cognitive, and interpersonal symptoms align most strongly with SI across weeks and months.
Methods: from three Dutch psychiatric cohorts of individuals with lifetime internalizing disorders spanning 16 waves from April 2020 until February 2022 (COVID-19 pandemic) were analyzed, including only participants with any fluctuation in SI over time. Variables included depressive, happiness, anxiety, loneliness, worry symptoms and COVID-19-specific items. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) was applied to quantify within-person (dis)similarity between symptom trajectories, and results were subsequently aggregated at group level.
Results: The 307 participants were on average 44.8 years old and 61.6% was female. Their average SI levels increased over the 16 waves. SI was significantly aligned with four depressive symptoms (i.e., sad mood, low self-esteem, low interest, and reduced happiness), two anxiety-related symptoms (e.g., fear of losing control, faintness), feeling abandoned, and overwhelming worrying.
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Conclusions: SI co-fluctuated with emotional, anxiety, social and worry related symptoms supporting the view that suicidality is embedded in broader networks of emotional and cognitive symptoms. These findings highlight the value of personalized, time-sensitive monitoring approaches that can help detect critical periods of increased suicide risk and may guide more targeted interventions.
Disclosure of Interest: None Declared