SynthesisThe Lancet. Public health2021
Risk factors for suicide in prisons: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The Lancet. Public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05195554 (Effectiveness of a Psycho-educational Intervention for People With Suicidal Conduct in the Prison Environment. N'VIU Project), which is not on this map. Cited by 78 papers, 4 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.
Effectiveness of a Psycho-educational Intervention for People With Suicidal Conduct in the Prison Environment. N'VIU Project: a Randomized Control Trial
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 215 citations in OpenAlex.
- A review of the 257 meta-analyses of the differences between females and males in prevalence and risk, protective factors, and treatment outcomes for mental disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Individual-level risk factors for suicide mortality in the general population: an umbrella review.The Lancet. Public health · 2023Pooled it
- Tools to Detect Risk of Death by Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The prevalence of comorbid serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders in prison populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2022Pooled it
- Medical Chart Review to Explore Suicidal and Self-Harm Thoughts and Behavior Among Psychiatric Inpatients.Omega · 2026Article
- A Qualitative Co-Production Study of a Solutions-Focused Approach to Understanding the Barriers and Facilitators to Engagement of Male Suicidal Prisoners in Psychological Therapy for Suicide Prevention.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Data-Driven and State-Tailored Strategies to Promote Suicide Prevention in Corrections Facilities.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Article
- Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Arrest Status, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Moderating Social Factors: A Cross-sectional Study of a U.S. Sample (2015-2019).Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- A novel approach to the assessment of repeat self-harm in prisoners: development and validation of a tool to bridge assessment and treatment (RAPSS).Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Article
- Latent profiles of psychopathological and criminological characteristics in prisoners: associations with suicide risk.Health & justice · 2026Article
- Critical illness in prisons: a multi-methods analysis of reported healthcare safety incidents in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Suicidality in the Criminal Justice System: The Role of Cumulative Adversity and Protective Factors.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Suicide prevention in Latin American prisons: a multiple case study with meta-matrix of policies, programmes and protocols in 17 countries.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Aggressive and self-harming behaviour among psychiatric inpatients in a specialised prison hospital: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Understanding healthcare utilisation for aboriginal people in New South Wales prisons with histories of self-harm and suicidal behaviour: a retrospective cohort study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Self-harm before and during imprisonment: cohort study of males in prison linking population-based routinely collected data in Wales.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- [Suicide prevention in Hamburg's penal system-analysis of cases from 2013-2022 and evaluation of interviews with inmates and staff].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention for people with suicidal behavior in the prison environment. N'VIU project: a randomized control trial.Health & justice · 2025Article
- Exploring reasons and motivations for suicide attempts in prison before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Health & justice · 2025Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRates of suicide among people in prison are elevated compared with people of similar age and sex who are living in the community. Improving assessments and interventions to reduce suicide risk requires updated evidence on risk factors. We aimed to examine risk factors associated with suicide in prisoners.
methodsWe did an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of risk factors for suicide among people in prison. We searched five biblographic databases for articles published between Jan 1, 2006, and Aug 13, 2020, and one database for articles published between Jan 1, 1973, and Aug 13, 2020. Eligible studies reported risk factors in individuals who died by suicide while in prison and in controls from the general prison population. Two reviewers independently extracted data for each study using a standardised form. We calculated random-effects pooled odds ratios (ORs) for the association of suicide with demographical, clinical, criminological, and institutional risk factors, and investigated heterogeneity using subgroup and meta-regression analyses. This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42020137979.
findingsWe identified 8041 records through our searches, and used 77 eligible studies from 27 countries, including 35 351 suicides, in the main analysis. The strongest clinical factors associated with suicide were suicidal ideation during the current period in prison (OR 15·2, 95% CI 8·5-27·0), a history of attempted suicide (OR 8·2, 4·4-15·3), and current psychiatric diagnosis (OR 6·4, 3·6-11·1). Institutional factors associated with suicide included occupation of a single cell (OR 6·8, 2·3-19·8) and having no social visits (OR 1·9, 1·5-2·4). Criminological factors included remand status (OR 3·6, 3·1-4·1), serving a life sentence (OR 2·4, 1·3-4·6), and being convicted of a violent offence, in particular homicide (OR 3·1, 2·2-4·2).
interpretationSeveral modifiable risk factors, such as psychiatric diagnosis, suicidal ideation during the current period in prison, and single-cell occupancy, are associated with suicide among people in prison. Preventive interventions should target these risk factors and include improved access to evidence-based mental health care. Understanding other factors associated with suicide might improve risk stratification and resource allocation in prison services.
fundingWellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.