Characteristics of People Committing Suicide in Medellin, Colombia

This article describes sociodemographic & clinical characteristics of 108 people who died by suicide in Medell’n between 2000-2003. A psychological autopsy was carried out & multiple correspondence analysis was used for identifying different groups. 50% of individuals were aged less than 29 & 79.4% were male. 68.5% had expressed a wish to die & 35.2% had previously attempted suicide. The authors recommend further analytical studies to determine actual risk factors & then using these as a starting point for prevention programs. (22 refs.)