Prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Iranian university students: systematic review and meta-analysis

TL;DR

This study finds that a significant portion of Iranian university students experience suicidal thoughts and attempts, highlighting the need for better mental health support.

Contribution

The study provides the first comprehensive meta-analysis of suicidal ideation and attempts among Iranian university students.

Findings

The pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation among Iranian students was 17%.

Lifetime suicide attempts were reported in 8% of Iranian university students.

High heterogeneity was observed across the studies included in the analysis.

Abstract

Students, due to their specific academic and psychosocial conditions, are at higher risk of suicide compared with the general population, and suicide is one of the leading causes of death among students worldwide.

To investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Iranian university students.

A systematic search was conducted in international and national databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed and Magiran, up to February 2025. Title and abstract screening was performed by a single reviewer. Two reviewers independently undertook full-text screening (study selection) and data extraction. Data were analysed using Stata 16. The heterogeneity of studies was tested with Cochran’s Q and quantified with the I
2 statistic. To explore the sources of heterogeneity, we performed sensitivity analyses and meta-regression. The protocol was registered in the International Registration of Systematic Reviews (no. CRD42023471340).

We included 28 studies in this research. The pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation, 12-month suicide attempts and lifetime suicide attempts among Iranian students was 17% (95% CI: 13–21%), 3% (95% CI: 2–4%) and 8% (95% CI: 6–10%), respectively, with substantial heterogeneity (I
2 = 94.85, 91.16 and 93.46%, respectively).

This study highlights the high prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Iranian university students, underscoring the need for effective preventive strategies and further research.

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