Objective:

To identify the sex differences associated with the potential years of life lost due to suicide in the department of Nariño, from 2005 to 2019.

Methodology:

Descriptive, observational and retrospective study, in which 1686 death certificates by suicide of men and women in the department of Nariño, identified in the National Administrative Department of Statistics, were analyzed.

Results:

From 2005 to 2019, 1,212 suicide cases of men were observed and 474 of women. Women committed suicide at younger ages than men. 50.5% of the men had completed primary school, and 46.0% of the women, secondary school. The highest number of suicide cases of men and women occurred in the urban area (51.2% and 45.1% respectively). Poisoning was the suicide mechanism most used by women (66.7%), and for men, the highest percentage (41.7) corresponded to hanging. The annual trend of deaths by suicide was higher in men than in women. For men, the suicide rate was above 4.5 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants, while for women, it remained below 3.0.

Conclusions:

There was an increase in the trend of deaths in the period analyzed and the risk of dying by suicide in men was 3.9 times the risk of dying by suicide in women. The study contemplates important aspects to be addressed in suicide prevention.

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