Clinical Correlates of Patients Attempting Suicide in North India: A Hospital based Retrospective Study.

ABSTRACT

Introuduction Suicide has become one of major challenginghealth problem in developing country like India. It is oneof the leading causes of mortality in young adults. There iscomplex interplay of multiple factors influencing the outcomeof suicide. Additionally, there is significant variability inprevalence and pattern of suicide attempts across differentparts of India. Study aimed to assess the sociodemographicand clinical profile of patients attempting suicide.Material and Methods: The study included retrospective filereview of around 150 survivors of suicide attempts registeredover a period of 1 Year (July 2016 to July 2017) at UttarPradesh University of Medical Sciences (UPUMS), Saifai,Etawah. These patients were referred from emergency andmedicine department for psychiatric assessment.Results: Most of the survivors were of female gender(72%), most common mode of attempt was by ingestion ofpesticides (82%), followed by overdose of medications (9%),and followed by hanging (8%). Psychiatric morbidity wasdiagnosed in 70% of the cases. Most common diagnosis wasadjustment disorders and mood disorders.Conclusions: This study reiterated the fact that majorityof suicide attempts were carried out by young females,predominantly by poisoning and overwhelming number ofsuch patients had underlying psychiatric morbidity