Title: Risk Factors Associated with Suicide Attempters Admitted to Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Haralahalli Dalavayappa Bhagyavathi, Vibhuthikere Siddalingamoorthy Pushpalatha, Bhoompuram Nagaraj Goud
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i7.09
Abstract
Background: The present study is conducted based on the case record analysis for the risk factors associated with suicide attempts in patients who were admitted to a hospital for attempting suicide which may throw light on the vulnerable groups.
Methods: One year’s worth of data (June 2014 to May 2015) was obtained retrospectively from case records of patients who had attempted suicide.
Results: In the year sampled, there were 1600 attempted suicide cases, of which 809 were referred to a psychiatrist for a risk-factor evaluation. More suicide attempters were female 412 0.9% than male397 (49.1%). Most subjects were married574 (71%), belonged to a nuclear family485 (60.5%), of middle socioeconomic status 919 (88%), and from rural background 509 (63%).High incidence occurred in the young adult and middle-age group 535 (21-40 years;66.1%) and in tHhose with pre university education 589 (73.9%).Unskilled workers (e.g., farmers and housewives) had high incidence 517(63.97%). Severe lethal methods like hanging, organophosphorous compound and drowning constitute higher percentage322 (40.8%) than other methods. A univariate regression analysis of different risk factors for suicide showed the most significant were presence of alcohol abuse (.001), physical illness (.001), and financial stress (.023), personality traits (.083). Moderate significance was found for presence of mental illness (.175), interpersonal conflicts (.240), academic stress (.591), family history of mental illness (.484), history of suicide in family (.462), and alcohol use in family (.544). Minimal significance with past history of suicide attempts (.790), and presence of other stress (.744)
Conclusion: This study from the case records elucidates common risk factors associated with suicide attempts, which may help in suicide prevention.
Keywords: suicide attempt, risk factors, prevention.
References
1. World Health Organization [homepage on the Internet].Suicide rates per 100,000 by country, year and sex.[cited 2012 Mar27]. Available from: http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide_rates/en/index.html .
2. Vijayakumar L, John S, Pirkis J, Whiteford H. Suicide in developing countries. Crisis 2005;26(3):112-9.
3. Latha KS, Bhat SM, D'Souza P. Suicide attempters in a general hospital unit in India: Their socio-demographic and clinical profile—emphasis on cross-cultural aspects. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1996;94:26-30.
4. Phillips M. Suicide prevention in developing countries: Where should we start? World Psychiatry2004;3:156-7.
5. Ministry of Home Affairs. Accidental deaths and suicides in India. Government of India, New Delhi: National Crime Records Bureau; 2014.
6. Radhakrishnan R, Andrade C. Suicide: An Indian perspective. Indian JPsychiatry2012;54:304-19.
7. Moscicki, E.K. Identification of suicide risk factors using epidemiologic studies. Psychiatr ClinN Am 1997;20: 499-517.
8. Lawrence DM, Holman CD, Jablensky AV, Fuller SA: Suicide rates in psychiatric in-patients: an application of record linkage to mental health research. Aust NZ J Public Health 1999;23:468-70.
9. Kposowa AJ. Marital status and suicide in the National LongitudinalMortality Study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2000;54:254-61.
10. Heikkinen ME, Isometsa ET, Marttunen MJ, Aro HM, Lonnqvist JK. Social factors in suicide. Br J Psychiatry 1995;167:747-53.
11. Lewis G, Sloggett A. Suicide, deprivation, and unemployment:Record linkage study. Br Med J 1998;317:1283-6.
12. Johansson SE, Sundquist J. Unemployment is an important risk factor for suicide in contemporary Sweden: An 11-year followup study of a cross-sectional sample of 37,789 people. Public Health 1997;111:41-45.
13. Johansson LM, Sundquist J, Johansson SE, Bergman B. Ethnicity, social factors, illness and suicide: a follow-up study of a random sample of the Swedish population. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1997;95:125-31.
14. Murphy GE. Psychiatric aspects of suicidal behaviour: substance abuse. In: Hawton K, van Heeringen K, editors. The international handbook of suicide and attempted suicide.Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons; 2000. pp. 135-46.
15. Stenager EN, Madsen C, Stenager E, Boldsen J.Suicide in patients with stroke: Epidemiological study. Br Med J 1998;316:1206-10.
16. Baxter D, Appleby L. Case register study of suicide risk in mental disorders. Br J Psychiatry 1999;175:322-26.
17. Goldacre M, Seagroatt V, Hawton K. Suicide after discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. Lancet 1993;342:283-6.
18. Latha KS, Bhat SM, D'Souza P. Suicide attempters in a general hospital unit in India: Their socio-demographic and clinical profile—emphasis on cross-cultural aspects. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1996;94:26-30.
19. Adityanjee DR. Suicide attempts and suicides in India: Cross-cultural aspects. Int J Soc Psychiatry 1986;32:64-73.
20. Ponnudurai R, Heyakar J. Suicide in Madras. Indian J Psychiatry 1980;22:203-5.
21. Kessler RC, Borges G, Walters EE. Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the National Co-morbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999;56:617-26.
22. Siwach SB, Gupta A. The profile of acute poisonings in Harayana-Rohtak Study. J Assoc Physicians India 1995;43:756-9.
23. Ministry of Home Affairs. Accidental deaths and suicides in India 2007. Government of India, New Delhi: National Crime Records Bureau; 2009.
24. Ministry of Home Affairs. Accidental deaths and suicides in India 2008. Government of India, New Delhi: National Crime Records Bureau; 2010.
25. Bhatia MS, Aggarwal NK, Aggarwal BB. Psychosocial profile of suicide ideators, attempters and completers in India. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2000;46:155-63.
26. Fleischmann A, Bertolote JM, De Leo D, Botega N, Phillips M, Sisask M, Vijayakumar L, Malakouti K, Schlebusch L, De Silva D,Nguyen VT, Wasserman D Characteristics of attempted suicides seen in emergency-care settings of general hospitals in eight low- and middle-income countries. Psychol Med2005;35:1467-74.
27. Rao A. Attempted suicide. Indian J Psychiatry 1965;7:253-64.
28. Ponnudurai R, Jeyakar J, Saraswathy M. Attempted suicides in Madras. Indian J Psychiatry 1986;28:59-62.
29. Khan FA, Anand B, Devi MG, Murthy KK. Psychological autopsy of suicide—a cross-sectional study. Indian J Psychiatry 2005;47:73-8.
30. Parker SR, Dawani V, Weiss MG. Clinical diagnostic and socio cultural dimensions of deliberate self-harm in Mumbai, India. Suicide Life Threaten Behav 2006;36:223-38.