Table 2.
Pooled estimates of risk factors for suicide, by domain
| Samples (k) | Cases (n) | Controls (n) | OR (95% CI) | z | I² | |
| Sociodemographic domain | ||||||
| Social isolation | 10 | 1549 | 1613 | 4.0 (2.1 to 7.7) | 4.2 | 95 |
| Unemployment | 25 | 4010 | 4439 | 3.8 (2.7 to 5.2) | 8.1 | 79 |
| Low socioeconomic status | 4 | 284 | 450 | 2.8 (1.8 to 4.2) | 4.9 | 0 |
| Low education | 19 | 3099 | 4474 | 2.7 (2.1 to 3.5) | 8.2 | 64 |
| Single/not married | 21 | 2773 | 3576 | 2.4 (1.8 to 3.2) | 6.4 | 74 |
| Low income | 6 | 1530 | 2317 | 2.4 (1.6 to 3.6) | 4.2 | 74 |
| Living alone | 15 | 2748 | 3014 | 2.3 (1.5 to 3.4) | 4.0 | 77 |
| Not religious | 12 | 1383 | 1550 | 2.2 (1.4 to 3.5) | 3.4 | 77 |
| Not having children | 6 | 1026 | 979 | 1.3 (0.9 to 1.8) | 1.4 | 61 |
| Family history domain | ||||||
| Mental disorder | 6 | 415 | 800 | 5.2 (1.9 to 14.1) | 3.2 | 82 |
| Suicide | 14 | 2018 | 2268 | 3.7 (2.3 to 5.7) | 5.7 | 73 |
| Suicide attempt | 7 | 1638 | 1789 | 2.8 (1.5 to 5.0) | 3.4 | 82 |
| Clinical domain | ||||||
| Any mental disorder | 28 | 4085 | 4368 | 13.1 (9.9 to 17.4) | 17.8 | 76 |
| Depression | 22 | 3432 | 3805 | 11.0 (7.3 to 16.5) | 11.5 | 77 |
| Schizophrenia spectrum disorder | 17 | 3056 | 4165 | 7.8 (4.5 to 13.5) | 7.4 | 63 |
| Bipolar disorder | 8 | 1220 | 1485 | 4.6 (2.1 to 10.1) | 3.8 | 33 |
| Substance use disorder | 21 | 3525 | 4621 | 3.7 (2.8 to 5.0) | 8.7 | 71 |
| Alcohol use disorder | 18 | 2777 | 4277 | 3.2 (2.3 to 4.4) | 6.5 | 71 |
| Drug use disorder | 6 | 1163 | 2098 | 3.0 (1.7 to 5.4) | 3.7 | 20 |
| Anxiety disorder | 17 | 2997 | 4199 | 2.5 (1.7 to 3.5) | 4.8 | 52 |
| Dysthymia | 6 | 964 | 1566 | 2.4 (1.4 to 4.1) | 3.2 | 36 |
| Any personality disorder (PD) | 13 | 1437 | 1634 | 6.8 (4.7 to 9.8) | 10.3 | 42 |
| Borderline PD | 7 | 754 | 1009 | 9.0 (5.6 to 14.4) | 9.0 | 0 |
| Paranoid PD | 5 | 519 | 807 | 6.2 (3.5 to 11.2) | 6.1 | 0 |
| Dependent PD | 4 | 393 | 739 | 6.1 (2.5 to 15.1) | 3.9 | 0 |
| Avoidant PD | 5 | 526 | 701 | 3.9 (1.4 to 11.1) | 2.5 | 69 |
| Antisocial PD | 5 | 515 | 715 | 3.4 (2.0 to 6.1) | 4.3 | 0 |
| Psychiatric treatment | 11 | 2171 | 2972 | 10.5 (7.4 to 14.9) | 13.1 | 41 |
| History of self-harm | 26 | 3466 | 4582 | 10.1 (6.6 to 15.6) | 10.5 | 77 |
| Previous suicide attempt | 22 | 2971 | 4107 | 8.5 (5.3 to 13.4) | 9.1 | 77 |
| Smoking | 4 | 412 | 660 | 4.3 (2.3 to 7.9) | 4.6 | 67 |
| Physical illness | 16 | 2963 | 3253 | 2.9 (2.4 to 3.6) | 11.2 | 19 |
| Adverse life events | ||||||
| Relationship conflict | 10 | 1338 | 2318 | 5.0 (3.3 to 7.6) | 7.8 | 73 |
| Legal problems | 6 | 889 | 1769 | 4.8 (2.4 to 9.4) | 4.5 | 75 |
| Family-related conflict | 9 | 1154 | 1364 | 4.5 (2.0 to 10.3) | 3.6 | 92 |
| Abuse/victimisation | 6 | 823 | 803 | 3.5 (2.4 to 5.0) | 6.8 | 0 |
| Financial problems | 15 | 1805 | 2261 | 2.8 (2.0 to 4.0) | 5.9 | 65 |
| Early separation from parents | 4 | 344 | 676 | 2.7 (1.6 to 4.5) | 3.7 | 5 |
| Work/school-related conflict | 11 | 1614 | 2565 | 1.8 (1.1 to 2.8) | 2.5 | 84 |
| Bereavement | 7 | 889 | 1122 | 1.2 (0.5 to 3.1) | 0.4 | 86 |
| Timing of life events | ||||||
| Within past month | 7 | 1140 | 1136 | 10.4 (7.1 to 15.3) | 12.1 | 19 |
| Within past 6 months | 3 | 402 | 402 | 5.3 (1.8 to 15.9) | 3.0 | 91 |
| Within past 3 months | 4 | 613 | 613 | 2.9 (1.6 to 5.0) | 3.7 | 72 |