Background: Results of the relationships between diabetes and the risk of suicide death are inconclusive. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess this association.
Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library up to February 29, 2016 for relevant observational studies regarding the association between diabetes and risk of suicide. Random-effects models were used to calculate summary relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results: 6 observational studies (8 independent reports) with a total of 3,075,214 participants and 3038 suicide deaths events were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, diabetes was not associated with risk of suicide deaths, with significant heterogeneity among studies observed (Summary RR=1.61, 95% CI: 0.91-2.83, Pheterogeneity<0.001, I2=97.2%). No publication bias was detected across studies, and both the subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis suggested that the general result was robust.
Conclusion: Our meta-analysis based on more than 3 million participants indicates that diabetes is not associated with increased risk of suicide death. Further well-designed prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm the findings of this meta-analysis.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.