Epidemiology of suicide attempters resorting to emergency departments in Karaj, Iran, 2003

Background and objectives This cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of the Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviors, a WHO multinational project, and aimed at determining demographic and clinical characteristics of suicide attempters seen at emergency care departments (EDs) in Karaj, Iran. Methods The population under study comprised all suicide attempters seen at EDs of hospitals in Karaj from 2002 to 2003. In total, 632 suicide attempters agreed to participate in the study. Information about demographic and clinical variables; the method, time and place of the suicide attempt; earlier attempts; the use of health services, etc was collected by examining hospital records and by interviewing patients. Data were analyzed with SPSS software. Results Most of the suicide attempters were women (62.5%), single (53.6%), and had a high-school education (52.8%). The mean age was 24.5 (+/- 9) years. Many of the male suicide attempters were unemployed (29.8%) and the majority of female attempters were housewives (67.5%). A positive history of suicide among relatives was observed in 15.4% of the attempters. A total of 28% of the participants had previously attempted suicide. A total of 23.7% reported poor physical health in the 3 months before the attempt. Conclusion The suicide attempters seen at the EDs typically were unemployed men, high-school students, women, and housewives.