Suicide and suicidal behaviors in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Without integration of the available information, appropriate suicide preventive actions can be hindered. Therefore, this study attempts to review the Bangladeshi COVID-19-related suicide studies for the first time. Methods: For conducting a systematic review, the PRISMA guideline was adhered. Bangladeshi literatures concerning the COVID-19 pandemic related to either suicide case or suicidal behavior were identified within 1 to 10 April 2021, from the databases like PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, etc. Finally, a total of 9 literatures were included in this review. Results: Four literatures were cross-sectional studies assessing the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal behavior, and the rest five were retrospective suicide studies concerned with either case study (n=3) or case-series study (n=2). The prevalence of suicidal ideation was identified to be ranging between 5% and 19.0%, whereas the rate increased over time of the pandemic inception. Significant risk factors concerning suicidal behavior included the factors related to (i) socio-demographic variables: female gender, being divorced or widows or widowers or single in marital status, having lower levels of education, being urban residence, belonging to higher socioeconomic class, being unemployed, and having no children, (ii) behavior and health-related variables: lack of physical exercise, cigarette smoking, alcohol consuming, abnormal sleep status, more exposure to social media, and suffering from the higher number of physical health problems; (iii) COVID-19 pandemic-related variables: lower knowledge of COVID-19, lack of preventive COVID-19 behaviors, higher levels of COVID-19 fear, living in highly COVID-19 infected area, higher economic loss due to the pandemic, and experiencing relatives or acquaintances’ death by the COVID-19; (iv) psychopathological variables: depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, suicidal thought history, suicide attempt history, and family with a history of suicide. Conclusion: Implementing cost-effective mental health strategies along with social and community awareness for increasing help-seeking behaviors of suicide risky individuals is highly suggested.