epidemiologic study of suicidal attempt cases in fars province, south of iran, 2010-2011

abstract background: the reduction of suicidal attempts as one of the most important goals is improvement of societies’ health status. the present study aimed to assess the epidemiologic aspects of suicide cases in fars province in 2010-2011. methods: a total of 9714 suicide cases in fars province, south of iran, in 2010-2011 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study through census. the study data were collected using suicide registry forms in the health centers affiliated to fars province department of health services and analyzed using spss, version 17. results: the rate of suicide attempts was 116.5 per 100,000 population in fars province (93per 100,000 among men and 141.5 per 100,000 among women). the results showed significant differences between the suicide rates based on sex, age group, place of living, and season of the year (p<0.001). most of these cases were female (59.4%), single (52.9%), 15-24 years old (56.4%), had high school education (25.8%), lived in urban areas (69.6%) and were female homemakers (30.3%). based on the data, however, the largest number of suicide deaths resulted from self-immolation (56.7%). conclusion: the present study findings revealed different rates of suicidal attempts based on sex and age group. also, the importance of education and mental support, especially among women and singles, and also preventive measures in the context of uncontrolled immigration from the countryside to the large cities seems to essential more than ever. yet, defects in some findings, particularly information about etiology, suggest that more researches should be conducted and suicide data registry and reporting systems should be improved.