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Crespo KC, Rios AMFM, Martini M, Barcellos C, De Borba Telles LE, Magalhães PVS. Characteristics of suicides of young people in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, from 2010 to 2016. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2021; 17:596-601. [PMID: 34739713 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-021-00403-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe demographic, toxicological, criminal, and medicolegal characteristics of suicides of young people aged up to 24 years examined by the Porto Alegre Medicolegal Office, from 2010 to 2016. This cross-sectional study collected data from the Porto Alegre Medicolegal Office and the Rio Grande do Sul State Police Department. The information was obtained from death certificates, toxicological analyses and police reports. Rates were calculated according to sex and age range (under 15 years old, 15 to 19 years old, and 20 to 24 years old) for comparing local with national data. There were 143 people who died by suicide in the period, 120 males and 23 females. Hanging was the most frequently used method, but in the range of 10 to 14 years old, firearm use was the predominant method. Fifty percent of male victims and 30% of female victims had some criminal history. Suicide rates in the study groups generally followed national trends. The relative frequency of suicide by firearm in this study diverged from international findings, as it was relatively more frequent in children under 15 years old and less frequent in older ranges. If confirmed, the finding draws attention to access to firearms in this age range. In older age ranges, adolescents and young adults were frequently involved in the criminal system. This finding may be useful for planning interventions involving both mental health education and screening for problems that may be associated with criminal involvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kleber Cardoso Crespo
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Angelita Maria Ferreira Machado Rios
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.,Departamento Médico Legal de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Murilo Martini
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Camila Barcellos
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Lisieux Elaine De Borba Telles
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Pedro V S Magalhães
- Clinical Research Center, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
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Cultural Accommodation of the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Young Adolescents 10–14: Greek Phase I and II Study. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2021; 1339:283-299. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-78787-5_34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Zainum K, Cohen MC. Suicide patterns in children and adolescents: a review from a pediatric institution in England. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2017; 13:115-122. [PMID: 28349246 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-017-9860-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Suicide is a catastrophic event to both families and communities yet it is potentially preventable. This study aims to determine incidence and patterns of suicide in children and young adolescents in our region, raise awareness of this entity as a potentially preventable cause of death in this age group, and identify its possible associated risk factors. We retrospectively reviewed suicide cases presenting as sudden unexpected death in children and adolescents that underwent coronial post-mortems at our institution. This is the largest pathological review of completed suicide in children and young adolescents within a single institution in the United Kingdom. We identified 23 suicide cases during a 12 year period from 2003 to 2015, in which 18 cases (78%) were male and 5 cases (22%) were female. The age range was from 8 to 16 years (mean age 12.82 +/- 2.52 SD). With the exception of one case, all of the victims were Caucasian. The majority, 19 cases (81%), were found dead inside their place of residence, 15 of whom were discovered in their own bedrooms. Twenty-one cases (91%) died from neck compression due to hanging; 6 cases (26%) had used the cord of a dressing gown and 5 (22%) opted to use a belt as the ligature. Two cases (9%) that died from multiple-drug toxicity were female. In 7 cases (30.5%) there was evidence of self-harm and in 3 cases (13%) there was a history of previous suicide attempts. Petechial hemorrhages were found at autopsy in more than half of hanging victims and only three cases (14%) displayed dual distribution of post-mortem hypostasis (back and legs). Seven victims (30.5%) left some form of suicide message to family members and friends, 2 of which wrote the message on their arm. Parental separation, conflict with parents, and depression, were common amongst decedents prior to committing suicide. Substance abuse was uncommon in suicide within our cases. Valuable information is available from thorough review of suicide data in children and young adolescents from a single institution. Pathologists and clinicians can play crucial roles in identifying potential risk factors that may contribute to prevent future deaths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khairul Zainum
- Department of Histopathology, Sheffield Children's Hospital Foundation Trust, Western Bank, S10 2TH, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bharu, Johore, Malaysia
| | - Marta C Cohen
- Department of Histopathology, Sheffield Children's Hospital Foundation Trust, Western Bank, S10 2TH, Sheffield, UK.
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Paraschakis A, Michopoulos I, Christodoulou C, Koutsaftis F, Lykouras L, Douzenis A. A 2-year psychological autopsy study of completed suicides in the athens greater area, Greece. Psychiatry Investig 2015; 12:212-7. [PMID: 25866522 PMCID: PMC4390592 DOI: 10.4306/pi.2015.12.2.212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Revised: 06/16/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To study the characteristics of a sample of suicide victims from the Athens Greater Area using the psychological autopsy method for the first time in Greece. METHODS We studied all recorded cases of completed suicide for the 2-year time period November 2007-October 2009 collecting data from the victims' forensic records as well as from the completion of a psychological autopsy questionnaire. RESULTS 335 persons were recorded as suicide victims. We contacted relatives of 256 victims interviewing those of 248 of them (96.9%). The differences regarding sex, marital and employment status between our sample and the general population were statistically significant (p<0.001). The male/female ratio was 3:1. Comparatively more victims were divorced, separated or single and a greater proportion were pensioners or unemployed. 26.0% of the victims had history of prior attempts (64.4% once, 20.3% twice and 15.3% more times). 42.6% were taking psychiatric medication-significantly more women than men according to blood tests; 14.2% had been hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic the year prior to their death. 84.8% have deceased at the place of suicide and 15.2% died in the hospital; 80.3% died indoors and 19.7% outdoors. Men died primarily by hanging or shooting by a firearm while women preferred jumping from height instead (p<0.001). As many as 48.8% had expressed their intention to die to their relatives; 26.6% left a suicide note. CONCLUSION Our study has shown that the psychological autopsy method is applicable and widely accepted yielding results comparable to the international literature. Specific parameters associated with suicide have been studied for the first time in Greece.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ioannis Michopoulos
- 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, "Attikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Christos Christodoulou
- 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, "Attikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Lefteris Lykouras
- 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, "Attikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Athanassios Douzenis
- 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, "Attikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece
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Bacopoulou F, Petridou E, Korpa TN, Deligeoroglou E, Chrousos GP. External-cause mortality among adolescents and young adults in Greece over the millennium's first decade 2000-09. J Public Health (Oxf) 2013; 37:70-7. [DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdt115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Austin AE, Heath K, Gilbert JD, Byard RW. Head impalement - An unusual form of suicide. J Forensic Leg Med 2012; 19:264-6. [PMID: 22687766 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2011.12.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2011] [Accepted: 12/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
An 80-year-old man with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and depression was found with his head impaled on a bolt that had been screwed into a hole that had been drilled in the floor of a shed at his home address. Once the bolt was in place the decedent had winched a heavy weight above it, using a pulley that he had attached to the metal roof frame, and the front fork of a bicycle frame. The latter had been bolted to a nearby work bench as a winching device. After the weight had been positioned, he had placed his head over the bolt and cut the rope with a kitchen knife. The impact of the falling weight had forced his head onto the bolt with penetration of the cranial cavity. The complexity of the design of the suicide apparatus is exceedingly rare in our experience and the time taken to set up the device indicated that there had been a considerable degree of premeditation. The finding of complex apparatus at a death scene may provide useful information in ascertaining the manner of death and also in providing some indication as to the decedent's level of determination to succeed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Austin
- Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology, The University of Adelaide, Frome Rd, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
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Causes of community suicides among indigenous South Australians. J Forensic Leg Med 2011; 18:299-301. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2011.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2011] [Accepted: 06/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Austin AE, van den Heuval C, Byard R. Suicide in forensic practice – an Australian perspective. AUST J FORENSIC SCI 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/00450618.2010.506197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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