Are left-behind families of migrant workers at increased risk of attempted suicide? - a cohort study of 178,000+ individuals in Sri Lanka.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There are an estimated 258 million international migrants worldwide. In Asia low-skilled workers often emigrate on a temporary basis (2-3 years) without their families. There is significant concern over the mental health and wellbeing of left-behind families in this region. No previous study has examined whether the risk of suicidal behaviour is elevated in left-behind family members.

Methods

Cohort study using baseline data from a large randomised controlled trial in Sri Lanka (n = 178,730 participants; 8% households had a current temporary foreign migrant) and prospective hospital presentations of suicide attempts. Using multilevel Poisson regression models, we compared the risk of attempted suicide in households with left-behind and non-left-behind family membe

SUBMITTER: Knipe D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6332866 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature