Trends in rates and methods of suicide in India

Suicide has been around for as long as human society, ranking among the top 13 causes of death in all ages worldwide and continues to challenge our collective wisdom. The present study is a retrospective study evaluating suicide cases in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh and one of the largest cities in India, between Jan 2008 and Oct 2012. There were 5204 cases with 2946 male (56.61%) and 2258 female (43.38%) victims, between ages 20 and 60 years; suicide rates ranged from 21.55 to 24.23 per 100,000 population. The method of suicide was different between male and female victims, as male victims tried to use more violent methods than females. The present study showed that suicide rates have increased since 1994, indicating a grave problem that needs to be solved.