Risk of suicide attempt and suicide in young adult refugees compared to their Swedish-born peers: a register-based cohort study

Abstract

Purpose Refugees, especially minors, who often have experienced traumatic events, are a vulnerable group regarding poor mental health. Little is known, however, of their risk of suicidal behaviour as young adults. We aimed to investigate the risk of suicidal behaviour for young adult refugees who migrated as minors. The moderating role of education and history of mental disorders in this association was also investigated. Methods In this register linkage study, all 19–30-year-old Swedish-born (n = 1,149,855) and refugees (n = 51,098) residing in Sweden on December 31st, 2009 were included. The follow-up period covered 2010–2016. Cox models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The multivariate models were adjusted for socio-demographic, labour market marginalisation and health-related factors. Results Compared to Swedish-born, the risk of suicide attempt was lower for all refugees (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.70–0.87), and accompanied refugee minors (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69–0.87), but estimates did not differ for unaccompanied refugee minors (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.62–1.10). Low education and previous mental disorders increased the risk of suicide attempt in both refugees and Swedish-born, with lower excess risks in refugees. Findings for suicide were similar to those of suicide attempt. Conclusion Young adult refugees have a lower risk of suicidal behaviour than their Swedish-born peers, even if they have low educational level or have mental disorders. Young refugees who entered Sweden unaccompanied do not seem to be equally protected and need specific attention.

Trauma Exposure, Social Networks, and Suicide Risk Among North Korean Refugee Women in South Korea

“…Studies exploring the relationship between trauma exposure and suicide risk among NK refugee women are limited. However, a few previous studies with other refugee populations have shown that higher levels of trauma can increase suicide risk (Ellis et al, 2015;Geirsdottir et al, 2021;Meyerhoff et al, 2018). According to the ITS (Joiner, 2005;Van Orden et al, 2010), not every individual with suicidal ideation acts on their suicidal thoughts.…”

Prevention of suicide and suicide attempts in the Nordic countries

“…Refugees are likely to experience traumatizing events both in their home country, during their migration, and after arrival (Khan Amiri, et al, 2021). Nevertheless, refugees were in general not found to have higher suicide rates when compared to the general population in Denmark, Norway and Sweden (Khan Amiri, et al, 2021, Geirsdottir, et al, 2021, Amin, et al, 2021a, Amin, et al, 2021b). An exception is unaccompanied minors who seek asylum; this group was found to have higher suicide rates when compared to youth in Sweden (Mittendorfer -Rutz, et al, 2020).…”

Cross-national comparison of three latent classes of young men who attempted suicide in China and Britain

“…Suicide accounts for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide and is the fourth leading cause of death between 15-29 years [1]. Suicide attempts are key predictors of future suicide and strongly associated with depression, psychosis, anxiety [2][3][4][5], addictive disorders [6], certain social-demographic factors, including educational level [7,8], and traumatic life events [9]. Risk factors for suicide attempts differ between Eastern and Western countries, with life stress and low social-economic status thought more associated with suicide in Eastern than in Western countries (15)(16)(17).…”

“…Risk factors for suicide attempts differ between Eastern and Western countries, with life stress and low social-economic status thought more associated with suicide in Eastern than in Western countries (15)(16)(17). However, the difference of suicide attempt between Eastern and Western countries still need to be further explored because most cross-national studies have been conducted in neighbouring countries, such as the Western Paci c Region or Europe [7,[10][11][12]. Cross-national studies carried out in very different cultural settings may help in providing more comprehensive understanding of etiological mechanisms to aid policy-making for prevention, and also whether the same principles apply globally [13].…”