Fatigue on Waking, Insomnia, and Workplace Relationship Problems May Help to Detect Suicidal Ideation among New Middle-Aged Primary Care Patients: A 6-Month Prospective Study in Japan

Signs of suicidal depression often go undetected in primary care settings. This study explored predictive factors for depression with suicidal ideation (DSI) among middle-aged primary care patients at 6 months after an initial clinic visit. New patients aged 35–64 years were recruited from internal medicine clinics in Japan. Baseline characteristics were elicited using self-administered and physician questionnaires. DSI was evaluated using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Profile of Mood States at enrollment and 6 months later. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to calculate adjusted odds ratios for DSI. Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios for associated factors were calculated. Among 387 patients, 13 (3.4%) were assessed as having DSI at 6 months. Adjusted for sex, age, and related factors, significant odds ratios for DSI were observed for “fatigue on waking ≥1/month” (7.90, 95% confidence intervals: 1.06–58.7), “fatigue on waking ≥1/week” (6.79, 1.02–45.1), “poor sleep status” (8.19, 1.05–63.8), and “relationship problems in the workplace” (4.24, 1.00–17.9). Fatigue on waking, sleep status, and workplace relationship problems may help predict DSI in primary care. Because the sample size in this investigation was small, further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our findings.