Suicide in Medical Sciences Students: A Scoping Review in Iran

Abstract

Both completed and attempted suicides among university students have drawn considerable attention. This study aimed to review the existing research on the underlying causes of suicide among medical sciences students. This scoping review included studies conducted in Iran until 2024. For this purpose, searches for the keywords “Suicide” or “Suicidal” and “University” or “College” or “Student” and “Iran” were conducted in the PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Magiran, NoorMags, and Comprehensive Portal of the Humanities databases. The search yielded 564 articles with after removing duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 37 articles were selected for evaluation. The minimum prevalence of low-risk suicidal ideation was 5.6%, and the maximum was 85.6%; the minimum prevalence of suicide attempts was 1.05%, and the maximum was 8.2%. The variables identified as risk factors for suicide were as follows: depression, anxiety, stress, psychiatric distress, hopelessness, loneliness, somatization symptoms, impaired individual functioning, neuroticism, borderline and schizotypal personality traits, maladaptive schemas, alexithymia, a history of mental disorders, a history of chronic illness, recent relationship breakup, a history of academic failure, being on academic probation, medication use, smoking, risky behaviors (alcohol consumption, substance abuse, unprotected sexual intercourse), self-injurious behaviors, cyberbullying, and problematic internet use. Suicide represents a significant health challenge among medical sciences students in Iran, and multiple psychological, lifestyle-related, and educational factors contribute to this issue. The implementation of national screening and intervention strategies for early management of suicide risk factors among medical science students is essential.