New Swansea University Study Links Gambling Disorder to Significantly Higher Suicide Risk
A landmark study from Swansea University has revealed that people diagnosed with gambling disorder face a substantially higher risk of suicide compared to the general population. The research, published in BJPsych Open and based on over 30 years of NHS data, highlights the urgency of earlier intervention for individuals experiencing gambling-related harm.
First Study of its Kind Using NHS Data
Researchers examined medical records from 1993 to 2023, comparing 92 individuals who died by suicide and had a gambling disorder to 2,990 people who died from other causes. The findings show that those affected by gambling harms had notably more contact with healthcare professionals – including hospital admissions – in the period leading up to their death.
Professor Simon Daymond, Director of the Gambling Research, Education and Treatment Center at Swansea University, emphasized the importance of the results.
“Almost half of adults worldwide report gambling activity in the past year, and gambling-related harm is a growing global health concern. Yet, until now, no study has examined the association between gambling diagnoses and mental health service use in the months preceding death by suicide.”
Gambling Disorder a Stronger Suicide Predictor than Other Conditions
The study found that gambling disorder was a stronger predictor of suicide than several well-known mental health issues. Professor Daymond added:
“A gambling diagnosis was a stronger predictor of suicide than other mental health conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia, or alcohol use – indicating gambling disorder poses a unique risk.
Importantly, help-seeking rates for gambling are persistently low, and now everyone who needs help gets a diagnosis, so the patterns we observed in the study are a likely underestimate of the scale of the harm caused by gambling and its association with suicide.”
The research underlines that increased healthcare interactions could serve as an early warning sign for suicide risk among those harmed by gambling. Daymond says that better use of linked health records offers a life-saving opportunity. He concluded that identifying these markers earlier can help health services intervene promptly and prevent the worst outcomes.
