Gender Differences of Suicide Attempt Among Iranian Patients with Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of suicide in Iran is higher than other West Asian countries. Objectives: The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of suicide attempt in psychiatric patients, and determine its associations with clinical and sociodemographic factors, and gender differences. Methods: Participants in this descriptive-analytic study were 941 patients who were hospitalized for at least 2 days in Razi center in Tehran in 2010. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze the factors related to suicide by SPSS software Version 17. Results: Almost 23.4% of the participants had a history of suicide attempt. Of the 250 females, 42 and of the 691 males, 178 attempted suicide. Suicide attempt in divorced, separated, and widowed females was much higher than in single females (P = 0.032). Also, those females who were drug abusers attempted suicide more often compared to non-users (P = 0.047). Suicide attempt was more prevalent in young males (P < 0.001). In addition, bipolar disorder (P = 0.011), depression (P = 0.27), drug abuse (P < 0.001), and alcohol abuse (P = 0.017) were risk factors of suicide attempt among males. Interactions between gender and marital status (P = 0.002) and between gender and the type of psychiatric disorder (P = 0.004) were statistically significant. Conclusions: There were significant differences in suicide attempt risk factors between males and females with psychiatric disorders; these differences could not be related to different exposures to the known risk factors in the 2 genders.