Najeeb Khalid.
Pattern of Suicide: Causes and Methods Employed.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;11(12):759-61.

Objective: Suicide, in recent times, has emerged as a major public health concern in developing countries like Pakistan. The objective of this study was to explore the pattern of suicide, its causes and methods employed in Sindh, Pakistan, for a better understanding of the phenomenon in local context and to compare our study with previous local and regional studies. Design : It is an exploratory study based on prospective analysis of suicide reports from two local newspapers in the provinc of Sindh. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan and analysis of news reports was made from March 1997 to March 2001. Subjects and Methods: Suicide news reports, selected on an agreed criterion from two local `daily newspapers` (Jung and Awam), were analyzed for the pattern of suicide in terms of age, gender, method and reason. The findings of data were then compared with local and regional studies. Results: The analysis of 1230 news-item revealed that males (68.47%) outnumbered females with an urban predominance (63.63%). The majority of the victims (47.21%) were below 30 years and were falling more in the category of married group in either sex (61.18% vs. 81.45%). Domestic problems (38.91% vs. 37.11%) were the most common reported reason in both the genders with adoption of more violent methods (61.20%) by males than females who opted more for poisoning with chemicals (35.20%). Conclusion: - Suicide is existing on an alarming scale in local context with a pattern comparable to the changing trend in the developing world. There is a need for urgent measures in this direction including compilation of culturally specific scientific data at a national level.

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