Occupational risk factors for suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Suicide is one of the health-related phenomena that imposes a heavy burden on society; so this phenomenon is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an important public health issue. Suicide is defined as an intentional death caused by self-directed injury, whose rate is different based on gender and age group. According to the latest report published by WHO in 2023, more than 700,000 people in the world die by suicide every year. More than 77% of suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2019. There are far more people with suicide attempts than there are deaths by suicide. A suicide attempt is defined as “non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior. A suicide attempt might not result in injury and suicidal ideation is defined as “thinking about, considering, or planning suicide.” The lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts in the general population is reported to be 0.8%. The ratio of suicide in men to women is reported to be 1.7. In another study, the lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts was reported as 13.5% and 4.6%, respectively. According to the nature of the suicide phenomenon, various risk factors have been expressed in this regard, including mental illness, physical diseases, body mass index, low income and unemployment, immigration, alcohol and substance use, and eating disorders. One of the important factors in mental health is the work environment in which a person works. Psychosocial factors in which people work are known as important factors in health. Various studies show that facing psychosocial risks in the workplace is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems. People who experience high job strain are at risk of depression, so this group is 77% more exposed to clinical depression, it is also associated with increased burnout, musculoskeletal pain, and mortality. Workplace bullying is associated with an increased risk of sleep problems, sickness absence, depression, and anxiety. The existing literature about the role of occupational risk factors and mental health is very extensive. Other factors that can play a role in different aspects of suicide are occupational risk factors. Studies on occupational risk factors for suicide have yielded some results, according to which workplace bullying has been associated with the odd risk of suicidal ideation and behavior 2.03-times and 2.67-times, respectively. Also, another meta-analysis study on occupational stressors and suicidality has shown that poor social support at work, job insecurity, and low job control are associated with suicidal ideation or suicidal mortality. Also, some other studies are limited to the role of working conditions, job strain, and workplace bullying with suicidal ideation and behavior. Another study has demonstrated that stress and job-related factors significantly influence cognitive functions, leading to notable impairments in areas such as verbal memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, set-shifting, and both simple and complex attention among middle-aged miners when compared to control groups. The findings also highlight that the duration of employment and the level of education play a crucial role in shaping executive functions.