SynthesisPloS one2021
Risk factors for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among medical students: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Suicidal behavior and Ethiopian students: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Suicidal behaviours and associated factors among Bangladeshi medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2000-2024).BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Depression in nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- To What Extent Does Medical Training Alter Students' Ideas Concerning Suicide?Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2026Article
- Implicit Health Beliefs and Suicidal Ideation in Chinese College Students: The Serial Mediating Roles of Lifestyle Behaviors and Anxiety Symptoms.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mental health and burnout among Swiss medical students living in contexts of deprivation: a longitudinal study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in eight low- and middle-income countries: a comparison of national surveys.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Academic Stress and Student Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2026Article
- Gambling disorder as a risk factor for suicidal ideation in medical students.Scientific reports · 2026Observational
- Association between medical school expectations, professional fulfillment, and mental health among medical students: a mixed-methods study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- The relationship between authenticity and suicidal ideation among medical university students in Iranshahr, southeastern Iran: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- The interplay of grit, resilience, and burnout among medical students during exams: a cross-sectional study in Mansoura university, Egypt.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bridging the gap: evaluation of the impact of a structured pre-professional medical education gap year on medical career pathway, competency development, and preparedness for professional school.BMC medical education · 2026Observational
- Suicidality and associated factors among people living with mental illness attending an outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital in Uganda.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Analysis on suicide risk in medical students, an analysis based on socio-formative conceptual mapping.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Prevalence and risk factors of suicide and their correlation with depression and anxiety among medical students: a Saudi multicenter study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Daily behavioral profiles and academic underperformance among university students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and determinants of academic bullying among medical and dental students in Jordan.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Subjective academic achievement and suicide behavior among university students in Ghana: A moderated mediation of financial stress and depression.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Perceptions of the decriminalisation of suicidal attempts among mental health service users in Ghana: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedical training poses significant challenge to medical student wellbeing. With the alarming trend of trainee burnout, mental illness, and suicide, previous studies have reported potential risk factors associated with suicidal behaviours among medical students. The objective of this study is to provide a systematic overview of risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA) among medical students and summarize the overall risk associated with each risk factor using a meta-analytic approach.
methodsSystemic search of six electronic databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Education Source, Scopus, PsycInfo, and CINAHL was performed from database inception to March 19, 2021. Studies reporting original quantitative or epidemiological data on risk factors associated with SI and SA among undergraduate medical students were included. When two or more studies reported outcome on the same risk factor, a random-effects inverse variance meta-analysis was performed to estimate the overall effect size.
resultsOf 4,053 articles identified, 25 studies were included. Twenty-two studies reported outcomes on SI risk factors only, and three studies on both SI and SA risk factors. Meta-analysis was performed on 25 SI risk factors and 4 SA risk factors. Poor mental health outcomes including depression (OR 6.87; 95% CI [4.80-9.82] for SI; OR 9.34 [4.18-20.90] for SA), burnout (OR 6.29 [2.05-19.30] for SI), comorbid mental illness (OR 5.08 [2.81-9.18] for SI), and stress (OR 3.72 [1.39-9.94] for SI) presented the strongest risk for SI and SA among medical students. Conversely, smoking cigarette (OR 1.92 [0.94-3.92]), family history of mental illness (OR 1.79 [0.86-3.74]) and suicidal behaviour (OR 1.38 [0.80-2.39]) were not significant risk factors for SI, while stress (OR 3.25 [0.59-17.90]), female (OR 3.20 [0.95-10.81]), and alcohol use (OR 1.41 [0.64-3.09]) were not significant risk factors for SA among medical students.
conclusionsMedical students face a number of personal, environmental, and academic challenges that may put them at risk for SI and SA. Additional research on individual risk factors is needed to construct effective suicide prevention programs in medical school.
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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.