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Cited by 67Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthSuicide and Self-Harm StudiesDeath, Funerary Practices, and Mourning

Physical and psychosomatic health outcomes in people bereaved by suicide compared to people bereaved by other modes of death: a systematic review.

Open access
Spillane, Ailbhe, Larkin, Celine, Corcoran, Paul, Matvienko-Sikar, Karen, Riordan, Fiona, Arensman, Ella·2017·BMC Public Health
DOI 10.1186/s12889-017-4930-3PMC PMC5725957
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Little research has been conducted into the physical health implications of suicide bereavement compared to other causes of death. There is some evidence that suicide bereaved parents have higher morbidity, particularly in terms of chronic illness. This systematic review aims to examine the physical and psychosomatic morbidities of people bereaved by a family member's suicide and compare them with family members bereaved by other modes of death. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched from 1985 to February 2016. The search was re-run in March 2017. Peer-reviewed English language articles comparing suicide-bereaved family members to non-suicide bereaved family members on measures of physical or psychosomatic health were eligible for inclusion. Cohort, cross-sectional, case-control and cohort-based register studies were eligible for inclusion. A modified version of the Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used for quality assessment. Results were synthesised using narrative synthesis. RESULTS: The literature search located 24 studies which met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies found statistically significant associations between physical health and suicide bereavement. Five of the studies found that suicide-bereaved family members were more likely to experience pain, more physical illnesses and poorer general health. They were also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In contrast, another study in Denmark found that those bereaved by suicide had a lower risk of a number of physical health disorders, including cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic lower respiratory tract disorders compared to those bereaved by other causes of death. Additionally, a further study conducted in the United States found that suicide-bereaved children visited a GP less frequently than non-suicide bereaved children. CONCLUSIONS: Review findings are relevant for clinicians working with people bereaved by suicide as they highlight that such clients are at increased risk of several adverse physical health outcomes. Future research should examine health risk behaviours of suicide-bereaved and non-suicide bereaved family members as they may confound the association between exposure and outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATIONS: The review protocol has been registered on PROSPERO, registration number CRD42016030007 .

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Crossref · 10.1186/s12889-017-4930-3

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  • Research has largely focused on suicide risk among bereaved relatives, though less is known about how many people are exposed and need support in the broader household or about their overall mortality risk from nonsuicide causes.

    “Research has largely focused on suicide risk among bereaved relatives,2,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 though less is known about how many people are exposed and need support in the broader household19 or about their overall mortality risk from nonsuicide causes.9,26,27,28”

    From Mortality Risk Following a Household Suicide (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Background (page unavailable) discusses suicide risk among people bereaved by suicide and gives a wide estimate of the number experiencing suicide bereavement annually. It does not address how many people in the broader household are exposed or need support. The nonsuicide-mortality clause carries different citations, so it is not attributed to this source here. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • In the immediate aftermath of the suicide, family members often experience intense grief marked by guilt, blame, and stigma, leading to enduring physical, psychological, and psychosomatic difficulties.

    “In the immediate aftermath of the suicide, family members often experience intense grief marked by guilt, blame, and stigma,2,5,6,7,18 leading to enduring physical, psychological, and psychosomatic difficulties.”

    From Mortality Risk Following a Household Suicide (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Background describes guilt, blame, stigma, complicated grief, and increased risks of psychological and physical problems among people bereaved by suicide. But the Discussion says no study found a positive association with psychosomatic outcomes and that uncertainty remains; it also presents stigma’s effect on health outcomes as possible, not established. The source therefore does not support the claim that these grief experiences lead to enduring physical, psychological, and psychosomatic difficulties. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These factors are associated with suicide behaviors.

    “These factors are associated with suicide behaviors,2,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25”

    From Mortality Risk Following a Household Suicide (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Background states that people bereaved by suicide are at increased risk of suicidal behaviour and discusses familial factors that may contribute. But the citing sentence does not identify what “these factors” refers to, so the source cannot verify the association for the full, unspecified set of factors. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Suicide is a major global public health issue with profound impacts that extend beyond the deceased to surviving family members.

    “Suicide is a major global public health issue with profound impacts that extend beyond the deceased to surviving family members.1,2,3,4”

    From Mortality Risk Following a Household Suicide (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

  • Most evidence comes from high-income countries, where more robust health systems may buffer harms.

    “Most evidence comes from high-income countries,2,9,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,26,27,28 where more robust health systems may buffer harms.”

    From Mortality Risk Following a Household Suicide (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

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Authors
Spillane, A., Larkin, C., Corcoran, P., Matvienko-Sikar, K., Riordan, F., & Arensman, E.
Affiliations
  • University College Cork (IE)
  • University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US)
Corresponding author
Spillane, Ailbhe
ORCID
Venue
BMC Public Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-12
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
939-939
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12889-017-4930-3
PMC
PMC5725957
OpenAlex
W2772179864
Cited by
67
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
FWCI
0.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Cork Open Research Archive (University College Cork, Ireland) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • eScholarship@UMassChan (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
SPHeRE (SPHeRE/2013/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
Keywords
suicide bereavement, physical health, psychosomatic health, chronic disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pain, cancer risk, children of suicide victims, health status
MeSH terms
Bereavement, Cause of Death, Denmark, Family, Health Status, Humans, Risk, Suicide

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