A Psychosociodemographic Study of Attempted Suicide Patients in PESIMSR: Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objective: Attempted suicide is a common clinical problem in general hospital; suicide attempts are increasing in trend and results from multiple factors. This study was conducted to observe various psychosociodemographic correlates among suicide attempted patients in PESIMSR, located in the rural area of Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study in suicide attempted patients was conducted at outpatient Department of Psychiatry over a period of 8 months. DSMIV^TR was used for diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. Results: Suicide attempts were slightly more common in females (52%). In all, 66% were below 30 years of age, 48% were educated below 10^th standard, 30% were farmers, 69.2% were married females and 58.3% were unmarried males. Majority of attempts were impulsive type (76%). The most common method of suicide was by consumption of organophosphorous poison (73%), and at their own residence (70%) and 72% had life events three months prior to attempt. The most common psychiatry disorder was depression (22%), 10% had history of alcohol dependence, 6% had personality disorders. Most common reason for suicide attempt was interpersonal problems with family members (28%). Conclusion: The most common psychosociodemographic factors found to be associated with suicide attempters in this study are: age, education, occupation, marital status, impulsive type, mode of act, recent life events, depression and interpersonal problem with family members. Among these factors, most of them are preventable and controllable.