Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among Refugees: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Suicidal ideation and attempts are one of the most serious mental health problems affecting refugees. Risk factors such as mental disorders, low socio-economic status, and stressful life events all contribute to making refugees a high-risk group. For this reason, this meta-analysis aims to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts among refugees in non-clinical populations.Method: All studies published in English up through August 2020 were considered for the analysis. We searched four databases for articles reporting (period) prevalence rates of suicidal ideation and attempts. Results: Of 294 hits, 11 publications met the inclusion criteria. Overall prevalence rates were calculated using Rstudio. The overall period prevalence of suicidal ideation was 20.5% (CI: 0.11-0.32, I²=98%, n=8), 22.3% (CI: 0.10-0.38, I²=97%, n=5) for women, and 23.3% for men (CI: 0.13-0.35, I²=87%, n=3). Suicide attempts had an overall prevalence of 0.57% (CI: 0.00-0.02, I²=81%, n=4). Conclusion: There is a great lack of epidemiological studies on suicidal ideation and attempts among refugees. The high prevalence of suicidal ideation indicates the existence of heavy psychological burden among this population. The prevalence of suicide attempts is similar to that in non-refugee populations. In addition, the results underline the need for systematic and standardized assessment and treatment of suicidal ideation and attempts.