Methamphetamine and male suicide in the US-Mexico border region

Introduction: Studying the use of psychoactive substances in completed suicide is essential in order to understand its role in the suicide generating stimuli. The most commonly reported substances are alcohol and opioids. Method: This is a retrospective study of completed suicide database of the Forensics Medical office in the city of Mexicali from 1999 to 2005. This is the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California in the US-Mexico border region. Results: Out of 288 suicides, 260 were men, and the most frequent drug found on autopsy was methamphetamine (p < 0.001). The modal victim was a young male (20 39 years old), employed in blue-collar jobs, lived in an urban area, found in their homes, and died by hanging. Discussion: Although no causal effect can be drawn, our study results suggest that methamphetamine use may be a risk factor for suicide in this sample.