Socio-demographic and Clinical Profile of Suicide Attempters attending a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Suicide attempts are one of the most common psychiatric crises. Suicide attempts are thought to be the most accurate determinants of completed suicide. A variety of circumstances causes suicide attempts. Although mental illness and extreme stress have long been linked to suicide, the socio-demographic and clinical features of those who attempt suicide can also reveal suicidal intent.OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore the socio-demographic factors and the clinical profile of suicide attempters.METHOD: The present study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Suicide attempters referred for psychiatric evaluation from various hospital departments from December 2018 to November 2019 were evaluated after proper stabilization. Details including socio-demographic data and psychiatric diagnosis were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS-16.RESULT: In our study, out of 80 subjects, maximum suicide attempters (71.2%) belonged to the age group of 18-30 years, most of whom were females (51.2%), mostly married (65%), followed the Hindu religion (66.3%), equally distributed in a rural and urban area (50%), literate (76.2%), unemployed (56.2%), of the lower middle class (48.8%), living in a nuclear family (46.2%). Of all the methods, the most commonly used method was ingestion of insecticides/ pesticides (38.7%), and most attempters had interpersonal issues with their spouse (38.8%) and had some psychiatric comorbidity (56.3%).CONCLUSION: Suicide attempts are common among the young population. Poisoning is the most popular mode, with Organophosphorus compounds being the most common in our study. As a result, patients require psychiatric care. Self-harm can be reduced by promoting healthy coping strategies and reducing stress. In a nation like India, where established mental health facilities are rare and stigmatized, it is also essential to convey enough information to people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.