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The Global Prevalence of Suicidal Attempt among Medical Students: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Even though suicidal attempt among medical students is a major public health concern, there are no prior studies that reported its consolidated magnitude worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, this systematic review is the first to quantitatively analyze the prevalence of suicidal attempts among medical students. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for English language articles that assessed the prevalence of suicide attempts among medical students. A random-effect meta-analysis was used to combine data from individual studies. The heterogeneity across the studies was evaluated using Cochran’s Q- and the I2 test. We assessed publication bias using Egger’s test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots. A total of 14 articles were selected for meta-analysis according to the PRISMA guideline. The pooled lifetime prevalence of suicidal attempt was found to be 2.19% (95% CI; 1.17–4.07). The pooled one-year prevalence was estimated to be 1.64 (95% CI; 0.60–4.45). The estimated prevalence of suicidal attempt was considerably high among medical studies in low and middle-income countries than medical studies in high-income countries. The estimated prevalence of suicidal attempt also varies by gender of participants Given the high prevalence estimate of suicidal attempt among medical students and its potential in resulting death by suicide, early identification, and interventions should be considered among medical students.

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Acknowledgments

We are pleased to acknowledge all the authors from the included studies.

Availability of Data and Material

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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The authors declare that there is no funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia

    Light Tsegay

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Paulo’s millennium medical college, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Mebratu Abraha

  3. Research and Training Department, Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Getinet Ayano

  4. School of public health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Getinet Ayano

Authors
  1. Light Tsegay
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  2. Mebratu Abraha
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  3. Getinet Ayano
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Contributions

The author (LT) conceptualized the study, conducted data extractioin, assessed the quality of the studies, conducted write-up and approved the final manuscript. GA performed the search, data extraction, conducted analyses quality assessment, involved in subsequent development of the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript. MA was participated in discussion and consensus and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Light Tsegay.

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Tsegay, L., Abraha, M. & Ayano, G. The Global Prevalence of Suicidal Attempt among Medical Students: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychiatr Q 91, 1089–1101 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09805-7

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