Nazarzadeh M¹ (MSc), Bidel Z^{2, 3} (MSc), Ayubi E¹ (MSc), Soori H^{1, 4} (PhD), Sayehmiri K^5,6 * (PhD)

  ¹ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

  ² Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

  ³ Students Research Committee, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

  ⁴ Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

  ⁵ Psychosocial Injury Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

  ⁶ Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

  Received: 6 Jun 2012, Accepted: 20 Dec 2012

  Abstract

  Introduction: Suicide is becoming a growing public health problem in Iran however there is no surveillance system or strength reporting system on it. Therefore, combining recent relevant studies is important to detect related risk factors and to help public health decision making. The present study aimed to determine the social-related factors of suicide attempts using a descriptive meta-analysis method in Iran.

  Methods: All domestic scientific databases were searched using “Suicide” keyword. A search was also done using keywords of “Suicide AND Iran” in PubMed and Science direct databases. Searching time was limited to a period of the past twenty years until March 20, 2012. Overall, 2526 articles were retrieved through the initial search. Finally, 20 studies from 16 provinces were included for the analysis. Random effect model of Mantel-Haenzel, Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were employed to assess the cause of heterogeneity among the selected studies.

  Results: Using 20 selected studies, frequency of family conflict as one of the most important causes of suicide attempts was 30 percent (95% CI=23-37). Other related factors were marriage problems (26% 95% CI= 20-33), economical constrains (12% 95% CI= 8-15), and educational failure (5% 95% CI=3-8). None of the variables suspected to heterogeneity were significant.

  Conclusion: In Iran, family conflict was the most prevalent cause of suicide attempts within the past two decades. So, using effective interventions, and providing appropriate training programs tailored to each region's culture, the incidence of suicide can be reduced in the community.

  Key words: suicide, social problems, attempted suicide, meta-analysis