A new study published in BJPsych Open has found that people diagnosed with gambling disorder are at a higher risk of dying by suicide compared to those with other causes of death. The research, led by Professor Simon Dymond, Director of the Gambling Research, Education and Treatment (GREAT) Centre at Swansea University, used anonymized healthcare records from Wales spanning 30 years between 1993 and 2023.
Researchers analyzed data from the SAIL Databank, comparing 92 individuals with a gambling diagnosis who died by suicide to nearly 3,000 who died from other causes. They reviewed general practitioner records, hospital admissions, outpatient appointments, and death records to identify patterns preceding these deaths.
Professor Dymond stated: “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.
“Our study found that those with a gambling diagnosis who died by suicide had more recent contact with mental health services overall, and particularly through hospital admissions rather than routine GP or outpatient appointments, compared to people without a diagnosis. This suggests there may be missed opportunities for earlier support and intervention.
“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 involved collaboration with King’s College London and Gambling Harm UK. The team hopes these findings will aid healthcare professionals and policymakers in creating better methods to identify and support those most at risk.