Risk of self-harm and suicide associated with the use of opioid analgesics
Opioid poisoning was the least common method of self-harm and suicide. Despite this, for the minority of people prescribed high doses and/or a long duration of prescription opioids, there is an increased risk for opioid-related self-harm and suicide after controlling for known covariates. Suicide-related behaviours should be screened and monitored in people prescribed opioids, particularly among those on long-term and/or high-dose opioids.
Authors
- Gabrielle Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0851-0748)
- Louisa Degenhardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8513-2218)
- Chrianna Bharat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9778-0386)
- Duong Thuy Tran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1454-9462)
- Brian Draper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1405-7932)
- Sallie‐Anne Pearson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7137-6855)
- Alys Havard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6563-8804)
- Natasa Gisev
Institutions
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The British Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2025-10-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2025.10436
- Primary Topic
- Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Australian Government
- NSW Ministry of Health
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre