Citation

Mohammadi AA, Karoobi M, Erfani A, Shahriarirad R, Ranjbar K, Zardosht M, Modarresi MS, Afrasiabi Z. BMC Public Health 2020; 20(1): e1646.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12889-020-09778-z

PMID

33143680

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Self-immolation, as a method of suicide, is one of the most violent and extreme ways which is usually attempted by the ignition of inflammable materials, with more than 70% fatality rate. In the literature, Iran has been reported to have a high rate of self-immolation; therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and epidemiological features of self-immolated patients.

METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional multicenter study, data from burn patients from 2007 till 2017 due to self-immolation and suicide were enrolled in our study.

RESULTS: Based on our data, 657 out of 3530 burn patients (18.6%) with a mean age of 31.15 (SD = 0.452) were documented as suicidal attempts; the majority were female (63.2%) and married (66.3%). Most of the patients were from rural areas (58.3%) with an education level of under diploma (63.2%). Of the patients in our study, 22 (8.7%) had comorbid systemic diseases and 115 (50.5%) had psychiatric disorders.

CONCLUSION: Due to the high prevalence of suicide by self-immolation among the Iranian population, further studies to evaluate the risk factors and clarify the high-risk group for more targeted approaches are recommended.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Prevalence; Burn; Self-immolation