Suicidal behavior in juvenile bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To assess rates and lethality of suicidal behavior in studies of children and adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: This PROSPERO-registered protocol (CRD-42019159676) systematically reviewed reports on suicidal behavior among juveniles (age ≤ 18 years), and pooled data on risk (% of subjects) and rates (%/year), followed by random-effects meta-analysis and multivariable linear regression modeling. Results: Included were 41 reports (1995–2020) from 15 countries involving 104,801 juveniles (102,519 diagnosed with MDD, 2282 with BD), at risk for 0.80–12.5 years. Meta-analytically pooled suicide attempter-rates averaged 7.44%/year [95%CI: 5.63–9.25] with BD and 6.27%/year [5.13–7.41] with MDD. Meta-analysis of 5 studies with both diagnostic groups found significantly greater attempt risk with BD vs. MDD (OR = 1.59 [1.24–2.05], p < 0.0001). In 6 studies, suicide rate with juvenile mood disorders averaged 125 [56.9–236]/100,000/year, similar to adult rates, >30-times greater than in the general juvenile population, and higher among older adolescents. The ratio of attempts/suicides (A/S) was 52.6 among mood-disordered juveniles, indicating greater lethality than among juveniles in the general population (A/S ≥ 250), but somewhat less than in the estimated adult general population (A/S ca. 30). Conclusions: Rates of suicide attempts in juveniles with a major mood disorder averaged 6580/100,000/year, were greater in BD versus MDD observed under the same conditions, and greater with shorter periods of observation. Lethality (fatalities per suicide attempt) was greater in juveniles diagnosed with major affective disorders than in the juvenile general population, but less than in adults.