Profile of Suicidal Deaths - An Autopsy based Study

Suicide is one of the leading as well as preventable cause of premature death not only in our country but worldwide. There has been an increase in the suicidal rates globally over the years. Suicide has many perspectives like religious, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, ethical, psychological, and psychiatric or biological. The objectives of the present study were to describe the risk factors and different methods adopted for suicide in a district of southern state of India. Adescriptive study was conducted on 175 dead bodies brought for medicolegal autopsy in the tertiary care centre, Alappuzha with history and post-mortem findings consistent with suicide. All the cases turned out to be homicide and accidents after investigation were excluded from the study. Information about the deceased were collected from close relatives and investigating officers. Maximum suicide victims were seen in age group 40 to 60 years where male outnumbered females. Most of the victims preferred their home to commit suicide. Hanging was the most common method adopted followed by poisoning, burns and drowning. In the study population, physical illness seen as the most common reason for suicide followed by family problems. Burns were chosen as a preferred method by females than males. This study supports in finding out the stressors that could have led them to commit suicide and to suggest few strategies to prevent the suicides in the future.