title: The investigation of factors related to suicide attempts in Southeastern Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Suicide is an important health problem in Turkey as it is in all regions of the world. Suicidal behavior has multiple causes, which are broadly divided into those related to proximal stressors and those due to predisposition. Suicide statistics may be associated with mental health disorders, which are among the foremost predictors of suicide attempts. More than 90% of patients who commit suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, usually a major depressive disorder. Other major risk factors for suicide attempts are history of suicide attempts in the family, stressful life events, sleep disturbances, poor income, unemployment, severity of symptoms of depression, and anxiety. Sleep is a complex phenomenon. Sleep disturbances can therefore be contributed to the emergence of suicidal behavior allowing for the possibility of predicting future suicides.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 106 patients who were admitted after suicide attempts to the Department of Psychiatry at Dicle University Faculty of Medicine. The recruited subjects were assessed by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders, and the intensity of symptoms was evaluated using the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The mean values of the subjects attempting multiple and single suicides were compared using appropriate inferential statistical tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most suicide attempts are believed to be preventable. Our results revealed that a great variety of risk factors are associated with an increased risk for multiple suicide attempts. Most of these attempts appeared to be spontaneous and impulsive rather than planned. In particular, this study highlights the importance of previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in the family, history of stressful life events in the previous 6 months, poor income, unemployment, sleep disturbances, severe hopelessness with depression, and coexisting symptoms of anxiety as risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first step in prevention of suicides is doubtlessly strong and reliable communication, due to the fact that the majority of subjects who commit suicide have had contact with a health professional during the month before the suicide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aslihan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okan Ibiloglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gunes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Cemal
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aytekin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sir
keywords: comorbidity; mental health; sleep disturbances; sociodemographics; suicide; suicide attempt