Abortion and the risk of suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Abortion had been suggested to be associated with the risk of suicide with inconclusive results. The objective of this study was to assess the association by systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods We searched PubMed, EMbase, PsycINFO, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases for all studies investigating the association between abortion and the risk of suicide. We included Studies investigating the association between abortion and the risk of suicide. Two reviewers collected the data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Outcomes included completed suicide, suicide behavior, and suicidal ideation. Data were analyzed by using Revman5.2 software. Results A total of 13 studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 1 case-control study, 6 cohort studies, and 6 cross-sectional studies. The results of meta-analysis showed that, abortion might be associated with increased risk of completed suicide (OR=3.16, 95CI 2.49 to 3.99, P <0.00001), suicide behavior (OR=1.92, 95CI 1.64 to 2.26, P <0.00001) and suicidal ideation (OR=1.52, 95%CI 1.32 to 1.75, P <0.00001).Conclusions The current meta-analysis suggested that abortion might be associated with increased risk of suicide. Due to the limited quality and quantity of included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusions.