Profile of Fatal Suicide in Iran: A Report From the Iranian Forensic Medicine Between 2016 and 2018
Abstract
The suicide rate among the Iranian population has increased over the past few decades. Descriptive information about this public health challenge could inform health policymakers to prioritize prevention strategies. We described the last updated data from the Iranian forensic medicine between 2016 and 2018. We obtained the data on the fatal suicide cases from the national suicide registry of the Iranian Forensic Medicine Organization (FMO), validated by death certificates and harmonized for epidemiologic studies. This study included 9,021 nationally registered suicide deaths from March 21, 2016, to March 20, 2018. A descriptive statistical approach was used to present the findings. Of 9,021 registered suicide deaths with age range between 10 to 94 years [median=31], 44.6% [n=4,015] was in the category of ≤ 29, 48.0% [n=4,328] between 30 to 59, and 7.4% (n=666) in the category of ≥ 60 years old. The percentage of fatal suicide was obviously higher in men (71.2%, n=6,424). Hanging was the most common method of suicide, both among men (57.7%, n=3706) and women (37.6%, n=976). The frequency of fatal suicide was significantly higher in married than single cases (52.6% vs. 42.9%). Overall, at the national level, the most common suicide method was hanging (51.9%), followed by self-poisoning (25.8%) and self-immolation (6.8%). We found evidence of age- and gender differences in suicide mortality across the country. Men, people in younger age groups, and married couples could be considered as the target population for preventive interventions in Iran.
2. Wasserman D, Wasserman C. Oxford textbook of suicidology and suicide prevention. USA: Oxford University Press, 2009.
3. Nazarzadeh M, Bidel Z, Ayubi E, Asadollahi K, Carson KV, Sayehmiri K. Determination of the social related factors of suicide in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 2013;13:4.
4. Naghavi M, Shahraz S, Sepanlou SG, Dicker D, Naghavi P, Pourmalek F, et al. Health transition in Iran toward chronic diseases based on results of Global Burden of Disease 2010. Arch Iran Med 2014;17:321-35.
5. Moradi-Lakeh M, Sepanlou SG, Karimi SM, Khalili N, Djalalinia S, Karimkhani C, et al. Trend of socio-demographic index and mortality estimates in Iran and its neighbors, 1990–2015; findings of the global burden of diseases 2015 study. Arch Iran Med 2017;20:419-28.
6. Izadi N, Mirtorabi SD, Najafi F, Nazparvar B, Nazari-Kangavari H, Hashemi-Nazari SS. Trend of years of life lost due to suicide in Iran (2006–2015). Int J Public Health 2018;63:993-1000.
7. Rezaeian M. Suicide among young middle eastern muslim females. Crisis 2010;31:36-42.
8. Morovatdar N, Moradi-Lakeh M, Malakouti SK, Nojomi M. Most common methods of suicide in Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Suicide Res 2013;17:335-44.
9. Poorolajal J, Rostami M, Mahjub H, Esmailnasab N. Completed suicide and associated risk factors: a six-year population based survey. Arch Iran Med 2015;18:39-43.
10. Rostami M, Jalilian A, Rezaei-Zangeneh R, Salari A. Factors associated with the choice of suicide method in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Ann Saudi Med 2016;36:7-16.
11. Rostami M, Nazparvar B, Rezaeian S. Differences among official statistics of mortality rates in Iran. J Occup Health Epidemiol 2018;7:192-3.
12. Shojaei A, Moradi S, Alaeddini F, Khodadoost M, Abdizadeh A, Khademi A. Evaluating the temporal trend of completed suicides referred to the Iranian Forensic Medicine Organization during 2006–2010. J Forensic Legal Med 2016;39:104-8.
13. Karamouzian M, Rostami M. Suicide statistics in Iran: let’s get specific. Am J Men's Health 2019;13:e1557988318807079.
14. Kiadaliri AA, Saadat S, Shahnavazi H, Haghparast-Bidgoli H. Overall, gender and social inequalities in suicide mortality in Iran, 2006–2010: a time trend province-level study. BMJ open 2014;4:e005227.
15. Martini M, da Fonseca RC, de Sousa MH, de Azambuja Farias C, Cardoso TA, Kunz M, et al. Age and sex trends for suicide in Brazil between 2000 and 2016. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2019;54:857-60.
16. Lee S, Dwyer J, Paul E, Clarke D, Treleaven S, Roseby R. Differences by age and sex in adolescent suicide. Aust N Z J Public Health 2019;43:248-53.
17. Poorolajal J, Haghtalab T, Farhadi M, Darvishi N. Substance use disorder and risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and suicide death: a meta-analysis. J Public Health (Oxf) 2016;38:e282-91.
18. Akbarizadeh F, Hajivandi A, Hajivandi M, Zeidabadinejad MS. Marriage Related Suicide Fatality Rates. Iran J Psychiatry 2019;14:54-9.
19. Balint L, Osvath P, Rihmer Z, Dome P. Associations between marital and educational status and risk of completed suicide in Hungary. J Affect Disorder 2016;190:777-83.
20. Kim JW, Jung HY, Won DY, Noh JH, Shin YS, Kang TI. Suicide Trends According to Age, Gender, and Marital Status in South Korea. Omega 2019;79:90-105.
21. Nazari-Kangavari H, Shojaei A, Hashemi-Nazari SS. Suicide Mortality Trends in Four Provinces of Iran with the Highest Mortality, from 2006-2016. J Res Health Sci 2017;17:e00382.
22. Ajdacic-Gross V, Weiss MG, Ring M, Hepp U, Bopp M, Gutzwiller F, et al. Methods of suicide: international suicide patterns derived from the WHO mortality database. Bull World Health Organ 2008;86:726-32.
23. Helaly AMN, Ali EF, Zidan EM. The pattern of suicide in the Western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a retrospective study from 2008 to 2012. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2015;36:27-30.
24. Göktaş S, Metintaş S. Suicide mortality trends by age, gender and method in Turkey, 2002–2015. Turk J Public Health 2019;17:195-206.
25. Abbas MJ, Alhemiary N, Razaq EA, Naosh S, Appleby L. The Iraqi national study of suicide: Report on suicide data in Iraq in 2015 and 2016. J Affect Disord 2018;229:56-62.
26. Jordans MJ, Kaufman A, Brenman NF, Adhikari RP, Luitel NP, Tol WA, et al. Suicide in South Asia: a scoping review. BMC psychiatry 2014;14:358.
27. Shojaei A, Moradi S, Alaeddini F, Khoda-Doost M, Ghadirzadeh MR, Khademi A. The association between completed suicides and season of the year in an Iranian population. Iran J Public Health 2013;42:293-7.
28. Rostami M, Jalilian A, Poorolajal J, Mahaki B. Time Series Analysis of Monthly Suicide Rates in West of Iran, 2006-2013. Int J Prev Med 2019;10:78.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 58, No 10 (2020) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/acta.v58i10.4913 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Iran Mortality Self-harm Suicide method | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
