Autopsy Study of Unnatural Deaths among Youth Population Conducted at Government Thoothukudi Medical College and Hospital

Background:The incidence of premature deaths has been increasing among the youth.Thus, this study was intended to assess the frequency of such deaths the situation surrounding their occurrence and the causation thereof.The unnatural deaths can either be induced by unintentional or deliberate injuries.The primary cause of unintentional injuries is accidents while that of intentional-directed injury is mainly attributed to suicides and homicides.This research aims to explore the occurrence of unnatural deaths in the age group from 15 to 24 years.According to age, sex and cause and manner of death among young people who fell victim to such forms of death.Methods: This study is a retrospective study which discussed the unnatural death cases that autopsied at Government Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, Thoothukudi for a period of 12 months from December 2023 to November 2024.Results: During the period of the study, there were post mortem brought up to 1003 cases, out of which 753 constituted deaths from unnatural causes (75.1%).Among 753 cases, 118 deaths were recorded as belonging to the youth age group 15 to 24 years (15.67%). Conclusion:Youth represents a critical phase in human development.The loss of life during this period poses significant implications for families and society, serving as an indicator of the socioeconomic and healthcare conditions at both national and regional levels.Every institution performing autopsies must undertake similar research to accurately portray the extent of unnatural youth deaths.