SynthesisPloS one2015
Religion and Completed Suicide: a Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Relationship of religion with suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, and suicide death: a meta-analysis.Journal of research in health sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Suicide Across Buddhism, American Indian-Alaskan Native, and African Traditional Religions, Atheism and Agnosticism: An Updated Systematic Review.Journal of religion and health · 2021Pooled it
- Religious affiliation and suicidality among college students in China: A cross-sectional study across six provinces.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Suicide in Muslim-Majority Countries Within the WHO African Region: A Narrative Review of Epidemiology and SocioCultural Factors.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Religious Involvement and Depressive Symptoms in Mainland China: A Trend Analysis of Older Adults, 2012-2023.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Is Religious Coping a Protective Factor, and for Whom? A Moderation and Subgroup Analysis on Loneliness and Suicide Attempts Among LGBTQ+ Adults Raised as Latter-Day Saints.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2026Article
- Attributing Emotional Distress to Supernatural Causes: Associations with Psychological Flexibility and Mental Health Outcomes in the USA.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Examining the Contributions of Hopelessness, Life Satisfaction, and Spirituality.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Psychometric Properties of the Religious Suicide Stigma Measure: A Study of Religious Congregants and Faith Leaders in the USA.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Temporal Sense and Psychopathologies of College Students with Sensory Impairments: Mediation of Religions.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- Investigating mental health disparities in rural sexual and gender minority adults: protocol for the rural exploration and approaches to LGBTQ + Mental Health (REALM) prospective cohort study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Prevalence, incidence, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years of self-harm and suicide mortality in the Middle East and North Africa: a sex-specific study based on Global Burden of Disease.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The relationship between attachment, primary emotions and positive/negative spirituality: a path analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Religion and mental health: an Eastern Mediterranean region perspective.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Is Irreligion a Risk Factor for Suicidality? Findings from the Nashville Stress and Health Study.Journal of religion and health · 2023Article
- "Spiritual Readiness" in the U.S. Military: A Neglected Component of Warrior Readiness.Journal of religion and health · 2023Review
- Suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and psychological help seeking attitudes among Arab youth.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Impulsivity, suicidal thoughts, psychological distress, and religiosity in adolescents and young adults.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Development of a Checklist for Predicting Suicidality Based on Risk and Protective Factors: The Gwangju Checklist for Evaluation of Suicidality.Psychiatry investigation · 2022Article
- The Influence of Parental Religiosity on the Health of Children during Late Adolescence/Early Adulthood: A Test of Mediation.Sociological perspectives : SP : official publication of the Pacific Sociological Association · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionSuicide is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death around the world. How religion influences the risk of completed suicide in different settings across the world requires clarification in order to best inform suicide prevention strategies.
methodsA meta-analysis using search results from Pubmed and Web of Science databases was conducted following PRISMA protocol and using the keywords "religion" or "religious" or "religiosity" or "spiritual" or "spirituality" plus "suicide" or "suicidality" or "suicide attempt". Random and fixed effects models were used to generate pooled ORs and I2 values. Sub-analyses were conducted among the following categories: young age (<45 yo), older age (≥45 yo), western culture, eastern culture, and religious homogeneity.
resultsNine studies that altogether evaluated 2339 suicide cases and 5252 comparison participants met all selection criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis suggested an overall protective effect of religiosity from completed suicide with a pooled OR of 0.38 (95% CI: 0.21-0.71) and I2 of 91%. Sub-analyses similarly revealed significant protective effects for studies performed in western cultures (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.18-0.46), areas with religious homogeneity (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.13-0.26), and among older populations (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.84). High heterogeneity of our meta-analysis was attributed to three studies in which the methods varied from the other six.
conclusionReligion plays a protective role against suicide in a majority of settings where suicide research is conducted. However, this effect varies based on the cultural and religious context. Therefore, public health professionals need to strongly consider the current social and religious atmosphere of a given population when designing suicide prevention strategies.
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