Alcohol use, and suicidal ideation and behaviour in Guyana: Findings from a population-based cross-sectional study

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.637
Keywords: alcohol, binge drinking, suicide, West Indies, Guyana

Abstract

Aims: To examine associations between alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking (HED), and suicidal ideation and behaviour in Guyana.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional secondary analysis used weighted data from 2,661 participants in the 2016 World Health Organization STEPwise risk factor survey. Participants were classified into four alcohol-use groups: Non-drinkers: never drank or no alcohol in the past 12 months; Past 12-month drinkers: drank in the past year but not in the past 30 days; Current drinkers (non-Heavy Episodic Drinkers [HED]: drank in the past 30 days without consuming six or more drinks on any occasion); and Current drinkers (HED): drank in the past 30 days with at least one episode of six or more drinks. Adjusted odds ratios were estimated for suicidal ideation and behaviour, using Non-drinkers as the reference.

Results: Eighty-two participants (3.1%) reported a lifetime suicide attempt, and 4.3% had seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months. The prevalence of past-year suicidal ideation ranged from 4.0% to 4.7% across alcohol-use groups (p>0.05). After adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, employment, education, income, marital status, and region, alcohol-use patterns were not significantly associated with past-year suicidal ideation or lifetime suicide attempts. Participants reporting HED had higher odds of reporting that a family member had died by suicide (aOR 1.68, 95% CI [1.04, 2.70]; p = 0.033).

Conclusion: Alcohol use and HED were not associated with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts in this population. However, HED was more common among participants reporting a family history of death by suicide.

Author Biographies

M. Shastri Motilal, The University of the West Indies

Dr Motilal is a Senior Lecturer in Family Medicine at The University of the West Indies. He coordinates the Postgraduate Programme in Family Medicine.

Reeta Gobin, The University of Guyana

Dr Gobin is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Guyana.

Raveed Khan, The University of the West Indies

Dr Raveed Khan is a Lecturer at The University of the West Indies and coordinator of the undergraduate programme in Family Medicine. 

Paulette Henry, The University of Guyana

Dr Henry is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Guyana.

Rohan G. Maharaj, The Healthy Caribbean Coalition

Rohan G Maharaj is a retired professor of Family Medicine at the University of the West Indies. Over the last decade, he has worked with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition as their Alcohol Policy Advisor.

 

Published
2026-09-17
How to Cite
Motilal, M. S., Gobin, R., Khan, R., Henry, P., & Maharaj, R. G. (2026). Alcohol use, and suicidal ideation and behaviour in Guyana: Findings from a population-based cross-sectional study. International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research. https://doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.637
Issue
Early View Papers and Abstracts
Section
Article

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