Social determinants of quality of life among undergraduate students and their association with suicide riste

Objective: to evaluate the quality of life and the relationship with the risk of suicide. Methods: cross-sectional study with undergraduates from a public university in Brazil. Quality of life was measured by the WHOQOL-Bref. A hierarchical model was tested using simple linear regression. The association of quality of life with suicide risk was assessed by Poisson regression. Results: 996 students participated with an average quality of life score of 61.0 +/- 13.8. Female gender, non-white, non-heterosexual sexual orientation, poorer, food insecure, using public transport, fear of violence in the neighborhood, history of discrimination and dissatisfied with the undergraduate course had a worse quality of life, which led to an 11-fold increased likelihood of suicide risk. Conclusion: the level of quality of life of the sample studied was low, being associated with greater socioeconomic vulnerability, which contributes to the increased risk of suicide. It is suggested to strengthen student assistance services at universities to promote improvements in quality of life through actions to promote social well-being, which may have effects on students' mental health.