Epidemiological Features and Trends of Suicide Deaths in Babylon Governorate, Iraq

Abstract Recently, the prevalence of suicide has increased in Iraq, especially in the younger populations. The recent trends of suicide have been nationally concerning. This study was carried out to investigate the sociodemographical features and trends of completed suicide cases over the past 7 years. Suicide mortality data were extracted from the records of medicolegal directorate of Babylon governorate. Data included demographical data of completed suicide cases and were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Time series analysis was performed on official data regarding the suicide death rates over a 7-year period (2015–2022) in Babylon. Ethical standards were considered throughout the study. This study included 169 documented cases of complete suicide over the past 7 years. The Mean age was found to be 24.28 (±11.13) years. Up to 45% of the total suicide deaths cases were less than 20-years old. Male-to-female ratio was 1.48:1. The most commonly used method of suicide was hanging (73.37%). And most suicide cases occurred in Hillah city. Suicide rates have highly increased lately. Being single, male gender, and young age were independent factors in this research.