Tentativas de suicídio em jovens e adultos com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA): uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: There isn’t much discussion on the matter of suicide in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, however, some studies already point out that suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide and consummated suicide may occur in teenagers and young adults with this condition. It is important to emphasize that the severity of the characteristics of autism is a significant predictor for suicide. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the literature that answers the following guiding question: ‘’What are the risk factors for suicide attempt among teenagers and adults with ASD?”. METHODOLOGY: A search was conducted in September of 2019 in five electronic databases (SciELO, LILACS, PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane). Observational studies were considered eligible with men and women between 18 and 65 years of age, which fall within the group with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ICD 10 or ICD 11). RESULTS: The search resulted in 817 records, of which only four were selected for qualitative analysis. The studies were published in 2013, 2014 e 2019 and were held in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. Regarding the study’s design, one is a cut study and three studies are of case-control. Mental disorders were the main risk factors for suicide in this group, predominately depression, personality disorder, anxiety disorder, substance use disorder and bipolar disorder. CONCLUSION: The evidence of this systematic review suggests that teenagers and adults with ASD are at risk of attempting suicide, and this risk is high when compared to the general population. Mental disorders are risk factors for suicide within this group, as well as other factors, such as unemployment, living alone, family history of suicide attempts, history of suicide attempt and eating disorders.