Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2021.60.03.16

Analysis of Suicides in the Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, during the 2001-2015 Period

Dušan Vapa orcid.org/0000-0003-4186-9047 ; Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Radosav Radosavkić ; Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Tanja Lakić ; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Miljen Maletin ; Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Ivan Stojanović ; Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia

Abstract

Suicide is an act of intentionally causing one’s own death. Every year, approximately
800,000 people commit suicide. The average suicide rate in Serbia is around 19 per 100,000
people, which puts Serbia in the upper half on the list of European countries. The aim of this study
was to define the number of suicides committed in the 2001-2015 period in the Province of Vojvodina,
the male to female ratio of suicides, the most commonly used method of execution, the proportion
of complex suicide, and distribution of suicides according to age groups, seasons, and days of
week. This study was conducted as a descriptive retrospective study in the Center for Forensic Medicine,
Toxicology and Molecular Genetics, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, by examining autopsy medical
records. All suicide cases were divided according to age, gender, method of execution, season of the
year, and day of the week. For statistical analysis, χ2 test included in Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used, where the value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
During the 2001-2015 period, in the Province of Vojvodina, suicide was committed by 2241
people, 1812 men and 429 women. The highest number of suicides was recorded in the 45-54 age
group in men and in the ≥75 age group in women. The most commonly used method was hanging in
both genders. The proportion of complex suicides was 0.4%. There was no statistically significant difference
in the number of suicides committed in different seasons. The highest number of suicides was
committed on Friday. This research suggests that there is a need for intensive work on the prevention
of suicides, especially among males aged 45-54 and females older than 75, especially in certain months
and days when the suicide rate is higher.

Keywords

Suicide; Complex suicide; Epidemiology; Methods of suicide

Hrčak ID:

271624

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/271624

Publication date:

1.9.2021.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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