An Epidemiological Examination of Suicides That Have Occurred in Tunceli During 2005-2015

Objective: The study aims to investigate the phenomena in suicides and attempted suicides that have occurred in Tunceli during 2005-2015, with respect to certain characteristics. Method: The files for 435 suicides and attempted suicide incidents in total, which have been recorded in Tunceli during 2005-2015, have been examined in this paper. Results: The suicide incidents have been determined most frequently among individuals under 24 years of age. In the evaluation of the causes for suicide, unknown reasons (51.5%) have been followed by family problems (21.1%) and psychiatric disorders (18.2%). Drug intoxications, use of stabbing instruments and hanging methods have taken the top three ranks among the suicide methods. 91.3% of the incidents consisted of suicide attempts and 8.7% completed suicides. While the ratio of completed suicides has been determined to be meaningfully higher in males (7.1%), the ratio of attempted suicides has been determined to be higher in females (95.6%) (p<0.05). Furthermore, it has been determined that the suicide incidents were observed more frequently during the spring and summer seasons and more in urban zone. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the causes of almost half of the suicide incidents in Tunceli are not known. The most important risk factors for suicide have been identified as young age, male gender, unemployment, urban life, impaired mental health and in-family problems. Further comprehensive studies are recommended as aimed to assess the suicide incidents in Tunceli and take protective measures for the risk factors.