Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1434958

A meta-analysis on the Lifetime lifetime and period prevalence of self-injury among adolescents with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Yanli Wu Yanli Wu Yanhong Zhang Yanhong Zhang Chengzhen Wang Chengzhen Wang Beibei Huang Beibei Huang *
  • Institute of Brain Sciences, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

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

    Background: Adolescents are vulnerable to mental disorders due to physiological, psychosocial, and cognitive changes during this critical developmental stage. Depression, in particular, can lead to high-risk behaviors such as self-injury (SI) and suicide. This study aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of SI behaviors among adolescents with depression.We systematically searched databases including EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Sciences for relevant articles published on adolescents with depression from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2024. The quality assessment of the studies was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) criteria. The global prevalence of SI was calculated based on a random effects model using Stata software version 17.Results: Our analysis included twenty-nine studies involving 12,934 adolescents. The lifetime prevalence of SI was 52% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 41-64), while the period prevalence was 57% (95% CI: 49-64). Notably, a significant relationship was observed between the prevalence of SI and the year of publication of articles (p=0.002). Furthermore, publication bias was not significant for both lifetime prevalence (P = 0.281) and period prevalence (0.358).The prevalence of self-injurious behaviors in adolescents with depression is alarmingly high, with more than half of adolescents having engaged in these high-risk behaviors during their lifetime or within the last year. Given the associated risk of suicide, it is crucial to identify individuals at risk and provide timely interventions.

    Keywords: Adolescent, Non-suicidal self-injury, self-injury, Depression, Meta-analysis

    Received: 19 May 2024; Accepted: 18 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Zhang, Wang and Huang. 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: Beibei Huang, Institute of Brain Sciences, Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    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.