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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Jul:301:113998.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113998. Epub 2021 May 13.

Suicide behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of 54 studies

Justin P Dubé  1 , Martin M Smith  2 , Simon B Sherry  3 , Paul L Hewitt  2 , Sherry H Stewart  4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Suicide behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of 54 studies

Justin P Dubé et al. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

COVID-19, and efforts to mitigate its spread, are creating extensive mental health problems. Experts have speculated the mental, economic, behavioral, and psychosocial problems linked to the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to a rise in suicide behavior. However, a quantitative synthesis is needed to reach an overall conclusion regarding the pandemic-suicide link. In the most comprehensive test of the COVID-19-suicidality link to date, we meta-analyzed data from 308,596 participants across 54 studies. Our results suggested increased event rates for suicide ideation (10.81%), suicide attempts (4.68%), and self-harm (9.63%) during the COVID-19 pandemic when considered against event rates from pre-pandemic studies. Moderation analysis indicated younger people, women, and individuals from democratic countries are most susceptible to suicide ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers and helping professionals are advised that suicide behaviors are alarmingly common during the COVID-19 pandemic and vary based upon age, gender, and geopolitics. Strong protections from governments (e.g., implementing best practices in suicide prevention) are urgently needed to reduce suicide behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Self-harm; Suicide attempts; Suicide ideation; Suicide prevention.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest or declaration of interest was reported by the authors. This study was funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to Dr. Simon Sherry (grant # 358001). Dr. Sherry Stewart was supported through a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Martin Smith was supported through doctoral awards from The University of British Columbia. Justin Dubé was supported by a Canadian Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The funding source had no role in any aspect of the study, including the decision to submit the study for publication.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study selection procedure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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