Insomnia is associated with suicidal ideation, lifetime suicide attempt, and greater psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia, according to a recent study. There findings suggest that formal assessment of insomnia may be germane to the clinical care of patients with schizophrenia as a marker of suicide risk and symptom severity. Researchers recruited 108 inpatients and outpatients aged 18–65 between July 2010 and July 2016 with DSM-IV non-affective psychosis (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder). They investigated relationships between current insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]), suicidal ideation over the past week and lifetime history of suicide attempt (Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation [BSS]) in regression analyses. They found:

• After controlling for potential confounders, insomnia was a significant indicator of suicidal ideation (β=0.27).
• Insomnia was also a significant indicator of a high BSS score (≥16).
• Furthermore, subjects with severe insomnia were almost 15 times more likely to have a lifetime history suicide attempt than subjects without current insomnia.