RESUMEN
To determine the pattern of suicide in urban Lahore and establish its relationship to socioeconomic factors and depressive illness. Design: Study of autopsy certificates, police inquest reports and psychological autopsy using structured interview proforma. Relatives were traced through police records. Setting:Department of Forensic Medicine, King Edward Medical College, Lahore. Subjects :Ninety six suicide cases brought by police from different parts of Lahore for autopsy between October 1993 and September 1995. Main outcome measures: Medicolegal and psychological autopsy. The pattern of suicide was drastically different from the Western studies. Hanging and firearm were the most common means used. Most victims were married. High-risk age group was 20-30 years. Common causes Found were financial and domestic reasons [65%], single or specific disappointment [20%] and acute depressive illness [15%]. The study calls for the early recognition of high-risk individuals and their treatment to save precious lives