Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 49 12 2020 11 29 2330 2338 Katayoun JAHANGIRI Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Kosar YOUSEFI Clinical Research Development Unit, Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Hospital, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran Aliashraf MOZAFARI Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali SAHEBI Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2019 07 21 2020 01 06 Background: Disasters have many health consequences such as suicide ideation as one of the relatively common psychological consequences after natural disasters, especially earthquakes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of post-earthquake suicidal ideation in affected people. Methods: Related keywords of this systematic review and meta-analysis in English and their Persian equivalents were searched in the data resources including Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science from Jan 2014 to May 2019. The STROBE checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the articles. The I2 index was used to determine the heterogeneity and the random-effects model was used in meta-analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted in the STATA software version 14. Results: Overall, 14347 subjects including 6662 males and 7715 females with the mean age of 23.88 ± 15.81yr old were assessed. The prevalence of post-earthquake suicidal ideation was 20.34% (95% CI: 13.60-27.08, P<0.001, I2=99.1). The prevalence of suicidal ideation showed a decreasing trend based on the year of the study and the duration of post-earthquake follow-up. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of post-earthquake suicidal ideation showed a decreasing trend, the probability of incidence of these thoughts in the long-term is still noticeable. Therefore, implementing a surveillance system is recommended to monitor the mental health status of earthquakes survivors for the possibility of suicidal thoughts in the short and long term recovery phase. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/17855 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/17855/7069