A study of prevalence and factors associated with suicide in a tribal population

 

 

Abstract              Background: More than one lakh lives are lost every year due to suicide in India. In the last three decades (from 1975 to 2005), the suicide rate increased by 43% Aims and Objectives: To study Prevalence and factors associated with suicide in a Tribal Population. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in the tribal area during the two year period i.e. June 2015 to June 2017. In the two year period there were 77 suicides occurred. All such suicides were identified The data is presented in percentages and in tabular form. Results: The prevalence of suicide in our study was 38.5 persons per year per lakh population The majority of the patients were in the age group of 40-50 i.e. 37.66%, followed by 50-60 were 24.68 %, >60 were 9.09%, 20-30 were 6.49%. Majority of the patients were Female 58.44 % and 41.56% were females. The majority of the patients associated with H/o Social stigma -89.61%, followed by Poor socio Economic Status -84.42%, Family history -64.94%, Female sex -58.44, Associated with Severe depression -32.47%, H/o Alcohol addiction -19.48%, Un-employed -16.88%, Terminal illness-14.29%. Conclusion: The suicidal rate in tribal population found to be very high and the associated factors were H/o Social stigma, Poor socio Economic Status, Family history, Female sex, Severe depression, Alcohol addiction, Un-employment, Terminal illness etc.

Key Word: Tribal Population, Suicide, Depression.