A Prospective Study of Suicidal Behaviour in Sundarban Delta, West Bengal, India

A year-long prospective study of all patients admitted for deliberate self-harm at 13 block primary health centres of the Sundarban region was done to examine the sociodemographic profile & clinical outcome of suicidal behaviour. A total of 1614 self-harm subjects were admitted during the year; 143 died. Although women, especially in the younger age groups, constituted the majority of cases, the fatality trend was higher among men than women. Poisoning was the most common method of self-harm, with easy availability of means being a risk factor. Psychosocial stressors were the common underlying reasons. Most incidents took place inside the home. Only a small proportion of subjects had a past or family history of attempted deliberate self-harm. The overall incidence of fatal & non-fatal deliberate self-harm was 5.98 & 61.51 per 100,000 population, respectively. (52 refs.) JA