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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Sleep Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1341686

Association between sleep disturbances and suicidal behavior in adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Valentina Baldini Valentina Baldini 1,2*Martina Gnazzo Martina Gnazzo 2Giada Rapelli Giada Rapelli 3Mattia Marchi Mattia Marchi 2Luca Pingani Luca Pingani 2Silvia Ferrari Silvia Ferrari 2Diana De Ronchi Diana De Ronchi 1Giorgia Varallo Giorgia Varallo 2Fabrizio Starace Fabrizio Starace 4Christian Franceschini Christian Franceschini 3Alessandro Musetti Alessandro Musetti 3Michele Poletti Michele Poletti 5Giovanni Ostuzzi Giovanni Ostuzzi 6Fabio Pizza Fabio Pizza 1,7Gian M. Galeazzi Gian M. Galeazzi 2Giuseppe Plazzi Giuseppe Plazzi 2,7
  • 1 University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • 2 University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  • 3 University of Parma, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  • 4 Department of Mental Health, Local Health Unit of Modena, Modena, Lombardy, Italy
  • 5 Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, S. Maria Nuova Hospital, IRCCS Local Health Authority of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
  • 6 University of Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy
  • 7 IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna (ISNB), Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Adolescents' health and well-being are seriously threatened by suicidal behaviors, which have become a severe social issue worldwide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of mortality for adolescents in low and middle-income countries, with approximately 67,000 teenagers committing suicide yearly. Although an association between sleep disturbances (SDs) and suicidal behaviors has been suggested, data are still scattered and inconclusive. Therefore, to further investigate this association, we conducted a meta-analysis to verify if there is a link between SDs and suicidal behaviors in adolescents without diagnosed psychiatric disorders.Methods: PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to August 30th, 2024. We included studies reporting the estimation of suicidal behaviors in adolescents from 12 to 21 years of age, with SDs and healthy controls. The meta-analysis was based on odds ratio (OR, with a 95% confidence interval ([CI]), estimates through inverse variance models with random-effects.Results: The final selection consisted of 19 eligible studies from 9 countries, corresponding to 628,525 adolescents with SDs and 567,746 controls. We found that adolescents with SDs are more likely to attempt suicide (OR: 3.10; [95% CI: 2.43; 3.95]) and experience suicidal ideation (OR: 2.28; [95% CI 1.76; 2.94]) than controls.Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that SDs are an important risk factor for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in healthy adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of early identification of SDs to prevent suicidal behaviors in this population.

    Keywords: Suicide, Sleep disturbances, adolescence, insomnia, sleep disorders, Suicial ideation

    Received: 20 Nov 2023; Accepted: 11 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Baldini, Gnazzo, Rapelli, Marchi, Pingani, Ferrari, De Ronchi, Varallo, Starace, Franceschini, Musetti, Poletti, Ostuzzi, Pizza, Galeazzi and Plazzi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Valentina Baldini, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.