TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - The lethality of suicide methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis
JO  - Journal of affective disorders
A1  - Cai, Ziyi
A1  - Junus, Alvin
A1  - Chang, Qingsong
A1  - Yip, Paul S. F.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: The use of suicide methods largely determines the outcome of suicide acts. However, no existing meta-analysis has assessed the case fatality rates (CFRs) by different suicide methods. The current study aimed to fill this gap. <br><br>METHODS: We searched Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest and Embase for studies reporting method-specific CFRs in suicide, published from inception to 31 December, 2020. A random-effect model meta-analysis was applied to compute pooled estimates. <br><br>RESULTS: Of 10708 studies screened, 34 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Based on the suicide acts that resulted in death or hospitalization respectively, firearms were found to be the most lethal method (CFR:89.7%), followed by hanging/suffocation (84.5%), drowning (80.4%), gas poisoning (56.6%), jumping (46.7%), drug/liquid poisoning (8.0%) and cutting (4.0%). The rank of the lethality for different methods remained relatively stable across study setting, sex and age group. <br><br>METHOD-specific CFRs for males and females were similar for most suicide methods, while method-CFRs were specifically higher in older adults. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first meta-analysis to provide significant evidence for the wide variation of lethality of suicide methods. Restricting highly lethal methods based on local context is vital in suicide prevention.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0165-0327
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.054
ID  - ref1
ER  -