Attempted suicide: Mode and its distribution characteristics among soldiers and their family

Published by Admin on May 10, 2018May 10, 2018

Rawal N1, Shrestha DB2, Katuwal N1, Pathak N31 Namrata Rawal, Consultant; 1Nagendra Katuwal, Consultant; Neuro-Psychiatrist, 2 Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, Intern, Shree Birendra Hospital (SBH), Chhauni, 3 Nishita Pathak, Consultant Neuro-Psychiatrist, Armed Police Force  Hospital, Kathmandu.

Abstract

Background:

Suicide and Parasuicide are the serious public health problem, which is higher in females, younger people and among unemployed males. Parasuicide being common include mental disorders such as mood disorder, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Para-suicides among military personnels and their families have not been studied yet in Nepal. This study is carried out to understand the demography of parasuicide and its mode.

Methodology:

This is a hospital record based study including data of last fi ve years (2011-2016 AD) where individuals with history of parasucide were assessed after they were referred to the neuropsychiatry department of military hospital. Their personal detail records and mode of parasuicide were retrieved using simple data retrieval sheet and entered and analysed after approval from local institutional review committee.

Results:

Among 65 cases attempting suicide, 52.3% were males and 47.7% were females. Median age of individuals attempting suicide was 29 years. Most of the cases (32, 49.2%) attempted suicide were family member of the soldiers then followed by serving and retired soldiers. Among the suicide attempters, organo-phosphorous (OP) poisoning was the commonest mode of suicide attempt (25, 43.1%), followed by drug overdose/ hanging each 11 (16.9%) cases.

Conclusion: The study showed that among the soldiers and their family, the commonest mode of parasuicide is OPpoisoning and seen in young males. Key words: Nepal; OP poisoning; Parasuicide and mood disorders being the prominent one3 . Studies also show, parasuicide being common in psychotic disorders, substance-induced psychotic disorder and in persons with comorbid substance use disorders4 . Nepal is an agriculture based country so readily  vailability of the pesticide facilitates their use as common attempt for suicide in Nepal5.
In context of Nepal exact nation-wide data on suicide and para-suicide is lacking. Though many studies have been done in suicide and para-suicides5 , no such studies have been conducted in Nepal in military personnels and their families. The study is carried out to understand the  emography of parasuicide and its mode in military personnels and their families who are the  vulnerable groups. Suicidal attempts are often encountered military and their families and is an important markers to understand the mental health problems of this population.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jkmc.v7ii1.21585