Abstract

RODRIGUEZ-ESCOBAR, José Adalberto; MEDINA-PEREZ, Óscar Adolfo  and  CARDONA-DUQUE, Deisy Viviana. Characterization of suicide in the department of Risaralda, Colombia, 2005-2010. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2013, vol.61, n.1, pp.9-16. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. Suicide is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. Rates are about 30/100.000 inhabitants in developed countries, in South America ranging from 3 to 7 and in Colombia the rates have fluctuated between 3 and 5, excelling the age range between 15 and 29 years. Objective. To characterize suicide in Risaralda department between 2005 and 2010. Materials and method. This research was carried out through quantitative and descriptive information from the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Sectional Pereira. The rates were calculated with the projected population growth rate of DANE. Results. We found that in the six years studied, there were 363 suicides, 83% in men and 17% in women. The most used mechanism used was hanging at 38%, followed by poisoning and firearm with 26% and 25% respectively. At the level of rates, the municipality with the highest figure was Belén in Umbria, with 13.2/ 100,000 population, while the higher age range was found between 20 to 29 years old with 13.2/100.000, followed by the older than 80 to 12.9/100.000 population. These figures suggest the need for greater prevention efforts. Conclusion. Suicide is a public health problem in Risaralda, it is located in the middle range compared to the world's population stands at national level among the highest rates recorded, we identify multiple biopsychosocial risk factors in young adult and seniors, so it is essential to strengthen prevention and intervention processes at different levels, based on the intersectoriality and social responsibility. More research is needed to facilitate the analysis of risk factors, fragility and resilience and their relation to socio-cultural variables.

Keywords : Colombia; risk factors; suicide attempted; suicidal ideation; suicide.

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