Suicide is one of the main external causes of death worldwide. People who have already attempted suicide are at high risk of new suicidal behavior. However, there is a lack of information on the risk factors that facilitate the appearance of reattempts. The aim of this study was to calculate the risk of suicide reattempt in the presence of suicidal history and psychosocial risk factors and to estimate the effect of each individual risk factor.

This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the PRISMA-2020 guidelines. Studies on suicide reattempt that measured risk factors were searched from inception to 2022. The risk factors studied were those directly related to suicide history: history of suicide prior to the index attempt, and those that mediate the transition from suicidal ideation to attempt (alcohol or drug misuse, impulsivity, trauma, and non-suicidal self-injury).

The initial search resulted in 11 905 articles. Of these, 34 articles were selected for this meta-analysis, jointly presenting 52 different effect sizes. The pooled effect size across the risk factors was significant (OR 2.16). Reattempt risk may be increased in presence of any of the following risk factors: previous history, active suicidal ideation, trauma, alcohol misuse, and drug misuse. However, impulsivity, and non-suicidal self-injury did not show a significant effect on reattempt.

Most of the risk factors traditionally associated with suicide are also relevant when talking about suicide reattempts. Knowing the traits that define reattempters can help develop better preventive and intervention plans.

Among the postcrisis suicide prevention programmes, brief contact interventions (BCIs) have been proven to be efficient. VigilanS generalizes to a whole French region a BCI combining resource cards, telephone calls, and sending postcards, according to a predefined algorithm. However, a major problem in suicide prevention is the suicide reattempt, which can lead to final suicide. Here, we analyze the suicide reattempt in VigilanS.

The study concerned patients included in VigilanS over the period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018, with an end of follow-up on July 1, 2019. We performed a series of descriptive analyses, survival curves, and regressions. The outcome was the suicide reattempt, and the predictive variables were the characteristics of the patient at entry and during follow-up in VigilanS. Age and sex were considered as adjustment variables.

A total of 11,879 inclusions occurred during the study period, corresponding to 10,666 different patients, among which 905 reattempted suicide. More than half were primary suicide attempters (53.4%). A significant relationship with suicide reattempt was identified for the following characteristics: being a non-primary suicide attempter, having attempted suicide by voluntary drug intoxication and phlebotomy, alcohol consumption among primary suicide attempters, and having no companion at the emergency room visit among non-primary suicide attempters. Hanging (as suicide method), having made no call to VigilanS were protective factors.

This study provides us with a valuable insight into the profiles of patients repeating a suicide attempts, which is important for suicide prevention in general.