Incidence of completed and attempted suicide in Trabzon, Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of completed and attempted suicide in Turkey are based on data of State Institute of Statistics (SIS) and emergency clinics of the large hospitals. This study seeks (1) to find, independent of the SIS and hospital data, the annual incidences of completed and attempted suicide in Trabzon, Turkey; (2) to examine the associated factors between the incidence of completed and attempted suicide.


METHODS
The data are derived by using a method specially designed for this study. Data sources include emergency clinics in all hospitals, village clinics, the Forensic Medical Center of Trabzon, the Governorship of Trabzon, "mukhtars" (local village representatives) of neighborhoods, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Trabzon, the Police Headquarters and Gendarmerie, and the local press organs.


RESULTS
The incidences of completed and attempted suicide per 100,000 inhabitants turned out to be 2.60 and 31.5, respectively, whereas the SIS reported the incidence of completed suicide to be 1.11 per 100,000 inhabitants in Trabzon in 1995.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that SIS data are inadequate for suicide research in Turkey. Our findings show that the risk of completed and attempted suicide is high in young, unmarried, and unemployed persons, and that these groups must be carefully evaluated for suicide risk. The study highlights the need for culture-specific research on suicidal behavior in Turkey.
Bilici
Mustafa
M
Karadeniz Technical University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Trabzon, Turkey. mbilici@meds.ktu.edu.tr
Bekaroğlu
Mehmet
M
Hocaoğlu
Ciçek
C
Gürpinar
Serhat
S
Soylu
Cengiz
C
Uluutku
Nafiz
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D000092864:Suicide Prevention