@ARTICLE{Arafat, author = {Arafat, S. M. Yasir and Menon, Vikas and Hussain, Fahad and Rezaeian, Mohsen and }, title = {Suicidal Behavior and Suicide Research during COVID-19 Pandemic in Muslim-Majority Countries: A Rapid Review}, volume = {4}, number = {1}, abstract ={Background and Objectives: Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide and the extent of research would help to identify the potential areas of further research and prevention of suicide during pandemics. We aimed to assess suicidal behavior and the extent of suicide research during the pandemic in Muslim-majority countries. Materials and Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO with search terms in different combinations. We also searched Google and Google Scholar to identify other available papers. Results: A total of 29 studies were included in this review from nine Islamic countries. The maximum number of studies was published from Bangladesh [16], followed by Iran [4], and Pakistan [3]. Twenty (69%) papers were published as original contributions, and eight (27.6%) as letter to the editors. The sample size ranged from 80 (Bangladesh) to 145510 (Kazakhstan) in the studies. Data were collected through an online survey and media reports (newspaper and/or television) in twelve (41.4%) studies each. The prevalence of suicidal behavior varies from 5-48%. Economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fear of infections, COVID-19 and its containment measures, COVID-19-related stress, and stigma towards it were noted as COVID-19-related risk factors. Increased suicidal behavior was noted in Kazakhstan whilst a reduction was noted in Bangladesh. Conclusion: The review identified a dearth of high-quality research on suicidal behavior in Muslim-majority countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it gives an inconclusive picture regarding the impact of the pandemic on suicidal behavior in Islamic States. }, URL = {http://isssp.ir/article-1-50-en.html}, eprint = {http://isssp.ir/article-1-50-en.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Suicide Prevention}, doi = {}, year = {2022} }