TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Epidemiological profile of suicide by hanging in southern parts of Kerala: An autopsy based study
JO  - Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine
A1  - Sharija, S.
A1  - Sreekumari, K.
A1  - Geetha, O.
SP  - 237
EP  - 240
VL  - 33
IS  - 3
N2  - Suicide rate is increasing all over the world; but the rate is disproportionately higher in Kerala. One hundred and eighty one cases of known dead bodies of both genders brought for medico-legal autopsy with history of suicide by hanging, were studied at the Department of Forensic Medicine, State Medico Legal Institute, Government Medical College, Thruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. There was a male preponderance in the study group (71.3%) and majority of males were young or middle aged (82.1%) whereas females were adolescents or young adults (73.1%). Among the males, only 2.3% were farmers. Alcoholism was noted in 75.2% of males. Immediate psychological problems were the reason for suicide in 33.7% of cases, majority of them being married (55.8%). Soft materials, that were easily available, were used as ligatures (48.6%) which were tightened around neck by slip knots (58%) on the sides of neck (53%).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0971-0973
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -