Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40525319›Full record

ArticleSubstance use & addiction journal2025

Kratom Use and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in the United States.

Kylie Sharron, Idiatou B Diallo, Ashley M Witmer, Paul S Nestadt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Substance use & addiction journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kylie SharronDepartment of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0009-0005-2301-8232
Idiatou B DialloDepartment of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8185-8804
Ashley M WitmerDepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-7558-9907
Paul S NestadtDepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2479-703X

Funding

Partnership for Global Health Research Training Program (Renewal)-Supplement for OBSSR, NCI, NCI-AIDS and NIDCDD43TW010543 · FIC · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI Wafaie W Fawzi, DAVIDSON HOWES HAMER · 2017 to 2026
$12.1M
Global Mental Health Training ProgramT32MH103210 · NIMH · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Judith Karen Bass, Sarah Sutherlin-McIvor Murray · 2015 to 2026
$4.0M
Harmonizing Multiple Data Sources And Psychological Autopsy To Characterize Suicides Among Opioid-Related DeathsK23DA055693 · NIDA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Paul Sasha Nestadt · 2022 to 2026
$985k
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW010543NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA055693NIMH NIH HHS T32MH0145920NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH103210
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe rise of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in the United States and their association with substance use disorders, including the emerging concern over Kratom-a psychoactive substance-necessitates an investigation into its role in STBs. This study provides the first epidemiologic assessment of the association between Kratom use and STBs in the United States.

methodsThis study leveraged data from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine the association between Kratom use and STBs. The NSDUH was carried out among a representative sample of American individuals. Our study sample comprised 47 291 individuals aged 18 and older across the United States. Lifetime Kratom use was the exposure, while outcomes included past-year suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts.

resultsPersons who use Kratom (PWUK) exhibited higher odds of reporting past-year suicidal thoughts (odds ratio [OR]: 2.14), plans (OR: 1.95), and attempts (OR: 2.50) compared to persons who never used Kratom. The associations also varied by sex and race, with pronounced effects among male and Black individuals. Specifically, subgroup analyses revealed higher odds of suicidal thoughts among Black PWUK (OR: 11.00) and among male PWUK (OR: 2.74).

conclusionsThe findings suggest a significant association between Kratom use and STBs in the U.S. adult population, with variations by sex and race. These results highlight the need for further research examining the causal relationships between Kratom use and STBs, including whether episodic use differs from addiction, as well as assessing the associations of Kratom use with other mental health conditions. This understanding is crucial for informing the development and implementation of targeted interventions, policies, and programs aimed at addressing Kratom use and its mental health consequences.

Indexed as

MitragynaSubstance-Related DisordersSuicidal IdeationSuicide, AttemptedAdolescentAdultAgedFemaleHealth SurveysHumansMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesYoung AdultepidemiologyKratommental healthrisk factorssubstance usesuicidal behaviorssuicide

Identifiers

PMID40525319
PMCPMC12919396

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.