Suicidal Ideation, Behaviors, and Deaths in People With Ménière's Disease: A Systematic Review

To assess relations between Ménière's disease and suicidality, measured by suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, and death by suicide.

CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsycINFO, and SCOPUS databases were searched from inception through July 2, 2024.

Observational studies related to suicidality in patients with Ménière's disease were included. Non-English language papers, editorials, and studies on vestibular disorders not specified as Ménière's disease were excluded. The Risk Of Bias In Nonrandomized Studies-of Exposure tool was used for cohort and qualitative studies, and the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist was used for case-control studies.

Four studies (n = 168,566) were included in our review. Two cohort studies found significantly increased adjusted hazard ratios of 2.1 (95% CI: 2.0-2.2) for death by suicide and 7.6 (95% CI: 4.4-13.3) for suicidal behaviors, respectively, in patients with Ménière's disease compared to the control population after their diagnosis. However, a case-control study found no significant difference in the prevalence of suicidal ideation or behaviors prior to the date of diagnosis in patients with Ménière's disease compared to the control population (0.9% vs 0.8%; P = .44). In addition, one patient with Ménière's disease expressed suicidal ideation in the qualitative study.

Patients may experience variable responses to Ménière's disease. Thus, otolaryngologists should be mindful of the potential for suicidality in patients with Ménière's disease.