[Self poisoning with suicidal intent- Part I]

ABSTRACT

Self poisoning is one of the most common forms of suicide- especially in adolescents- and constitutes a major reason for hospitalization and referral to emergency wards. The high frequency of repeated attempts together with the shortage of reliable epidemiologic data makes it difficult to plan effective preventive measures. The present article is the first section of a two-part paper on the epidemiology of self-poisoning in Iran. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Tehran, Mashad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz and Kermanshah [5 major provinces of Iran]. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and were analyzed in a descriptive fashion. In all, 723 cases were studied. There were 550 cases [%71] of self poisoning with suicidal intent. The mean age of those who had attempted suicide was [25.42 +/- 10.26] years; sixty percent [n=330] were female and the remaining 40% [n=220] were male. Eighty percent of attempted suicides involved the use of drugs; other suicide modalities included poisons, psychotropic substances and other chemicals. Thirty-one percent of the cases reported previous suicidal gestures. The mean number of past suicidal attempts was 2.08 [SD = 2.28]. The findings show that the frequency of attempted suicide is relatively high. To deal with the current situation, issues of mental heath have to be addressed more attentively and hospital emergency wards must be provided with adequate equipment and trained manpower [psychologists, psychiatrists, toxicologists, etc]