The Study of Suicide and Attempted Suicide Epidemiology in Sirjan in 2018

Background: Prevalence of suicide and attempted suicide has increased due to social, economic, and cultural factors. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the suicide and attempted suicide epidemiology in Sirjan, Iran, in 2018. Methods: Following a cross-sectional design, suicide attempts and their related factors were investigated in the city of Sirjan in 2018. Data were collected by a researcher-developed checklist and were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (i.e., chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests) by SPSS. Results: A total of 768 people referred to Sirjan’s hospitals with a diagnosis of suicide attempt were investigated. One-year suicide attempts incidence for males and females was 120.6 (N = 391) and 116.3 (N = 377) per 100,000 people, respectively. The mean age of males and females was 26.0 ± 9.2 and 24.2 ± 8.1, respectively. Most cases were aged 20 - 29 and 10 - 19 years. The male-to-female ratio was higher in the 20 - 29 age group, but more females, most suicide cases were aged 10 - 19, and this difference was significant. Most of them were single, urbanite, educated up to high school diploma, or were school-goers. Self-poisoning (i.e. drug intoxication) was the most common method of suicide attempts. Suicides that led to death were 3.7 per 100000 people, higher rates were observed in men, younger age, single status, urbanite, and those with school diplomas. Hanging was the most common suicide method. Conclusions: Sirjan is one of the areas with high rates of suicide attempts; therefore, the findings of the present study can be regarded as a step forward in future studies to consider interventions intended to improve mental health, as well as to find useful solutions to prevent suicide occurrence.