Trend of Suicide in Iran During 2009 to 2012: Epidemiological Evidences from National Suicide Registration

Background: Suicide behaviors cause a large portion of Disability adjusted life years worldwide. Objectives: The aim of this research was to study the trend, correlations and discrepancy of registered suicide incidents in Iran from 2009 to 2012 using data from the Iranian suicide registry. Materials and Methods: Suicide registry entries throughout the country between 2009 and 2012, including suicidal attempts and suicides, were collected. Data on age, gender, occupational, marital and residential status along with suicide method, history of previous attempt and history of medical or mental disorders were registered by health service provision staff at the service centers. Geographic mapping and statistical analysis were performed. Results: Amongst the 252911 attempted suicides during the period, we found suicide attempt and suicide rate of 30.5 - 44.8 and 1.76 - 2.23 per 100000 individuals, respectively, denoting overall suicide fatality rate of 2.63%. The rate of suicide attempt in different provinces ranged between 0.7 and 271.1 and the rate of suicide between 0.17 and 17.7 per 100000 individuals. Attempted suicides showed more fatality in males, elderly, widow/widowers, divorced and unemployed subjects as well as in residents of rural areas. The most common attempt methods were medication overdose (84%), and the mostcommonsuicide methods were hanging (30.3%), medications overdose (28.1%) and self-burning (17.9%); these methods are found at different rates in various parts of the world. Conclusions: While the registry could provide us the most valid data on suicide, the wide range of suicide and suicide attempt rates in different provinces not only could question this statement but also could highlight the importance of studying the ethnic/geographic variations in suicide epidemiology with improved suicide registry and surveillance systems.