Updated Systematic Review of Suicide in Autism: 2018–2024

Brown, Claire; Newell, Victoria; Sahin, Ensu; Hedley, Darren

doi:10.1007/s40474-024-00308-9

Updated Systematic Review of Suicide in Autism: 2018–2024

journal contribution

posted on 2024-11-12, 03:34 authored by Claire BrownClaire Brown, Victoria NewellVictoria Newell, Ensu SahinEnsu Sahin, Darren HedleyDarren Hedley

Purpose of review: The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive update of literature published between January 2018 and April 2024, examining suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB) prevalence, risk factors, theoretical models, and interventions in autism. Recent findings: We identified four recent meta-analyses and two systematic reviews. Pooled prevalence estimates in autism ranged from 34.2% for suicide ideation to 24.3% for suicide attempts. Autistic traits, interpersonal factors, and depressive symptoms were identified as STB risk factors, with elevated risk observed across the lifespan. Summary: We included 80 studies examining STB in diagnosed autistic people or autistic traits in non-clinical samples. Autistic people were found to have an up to eightfold increased risk of death by suicide compared to non-autistic people, although reported rates varied considerably between studies; co-occurring mental health conditions, social, psychological, and cognitive factors exacerbated risk. Validated STB assessment tools and interventions for autistic people were notably scarce.

Funding

C.M.B and D.H gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Suicide Prevention Australia.

History

Publication Date

2024-12-01

Journal

Current Developmental Disorders Reports

Volume

11

Issue

4

Pagination

32p. (p. 225-256)

Publisher

Springer Nature

ISSN

2196-2987

Rights Statement

© The Author(s) 2024 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.