Insight of suicide in Iraq: a coroner’s report

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a serious public health problems worldwide. Although suicide rates in the eastern Medetranian region are lower than western countries, increasing incidences is reported. This study aims to explore the demographic, clinical characteristics, and associated variables of people died by suicide in Iraq through a limited retrospective sample symbolized as biopsy. Methods: The retrospective analysis included the electronic records of a hundred cases of suicide saved in the archives of the Medico-Legal Directory in Baghdad. Data were extracted from the legal investigation which included police investigations, family reports, and post-mortem reports. Simple descriptive satstistical analyses of the selected data was conducted. Results: It estimated through this study that the crude rate of suicide was 1.75 per 100,000 population which is higher than 1.09/10,000, previously reported by the Iraq national study of suicide 2016. Most cases occurred in ≤ 29 years old, Muslims, city dwellers, and middle-class people aged 29 years or less. The prevalence of suicide was significantly associated with unemployment, good education, and income. The most common methods used were self-burning, gunshot, hanging, and jumping from heights. The reason for taking their own life was unknown for half of the sample. Depression was relatively common, while other mental disorders were of low rate or unrecognized. Family conflicts and environmental stressors were considered as motives. Conclusions: This study exemplifies suicide patterns where young age, female gender, and violent methods are represented more than before, reflecting the impact of environmental and personal stressors and may be related to violence and the post-conflict situation initiated by the 2003 war. Little is known about suicide architecture due to stigma and poor surveillance system. A multidisciplinary suicide prevention strategy is crucial to implement in Iraq’s health service. Large-scale studies are called to cover the data gap.