Psychological, agricultural, and socioeconomic risk factors in farmers with and without completed suicide

ABSTRACT Background: Farming is an occupation with higher risk for suicide compared to other occupations, and Indians are no exception. Karnataka state is only second after Maharashtra in the frequency/prevalence of farmers’ suicide in India. Suicide among farmers is multidimensional in nature. Aim: To study the psychological, agricultural, and socioeconomic risk factors in farmers who had completed suicide and farmers in the same locality who had not/never attempted suicide. Methods: Families of farmers, aged between 18 and 60 years, who had died by suicide, were recruited as cases. Age- and gender-matched farmers from the same locality with similar financial risk factors were recruited as controls by the convenient sampling method after obtaining informed consent. Psychological autopsy was done in cases, and similar risk factors were assessed in controls. GHQ-12 and Mini Plus scale were used. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. Results: The study included 295 cases and 254 controls. Sociodemographic parameters except educational status ( P = 0.003) were comparable among groups. Social and financial support was higher in cases than in the control group of farmers. Both groups had similar agricultural practices except crop insurance, which was low among cases ( P < 0.001). Cases suffered from a greater number of health issues compared to controls. Substance use was significantly higher in cases ( P < 0.001) (mostly alcohol and tobacco). Hanging was the most common method of committing suicide, followed by poisoning with pesticides. Conclusion: Farmer suicide is a complex phenomenon with underlying multiple risk factors. Farmers with suicidal attempt had underlying depression, socioeconomic, and agricultural risk factors and also substance abuse.