Attempted suicide in immigrants from Turkey: a comparison with Swiss suicide attempters

Abstract

Background/aims: Turkish migrants have been shown to have an increased rate of suicide attempts as compared to native local populations and also to people in Turkey. In this study we conducted in-depth interviews with patients regarding their reasons for the attempt.

Subjects and methods: Seventy Turkish immigrants admitted to the emergency unit of the Basel University Hospital after a suicide attempt were interviewed. Seventy Swiss suicide attempters, matched for age and sex, served as a comparator (case-control study).

Results: Turkish immigrants showed high rates of suicide attempts. The gender ratio (women/men) was 2.2; 38.6% of all Turkish suicide attempters were women aged between 15 and 25 years. Most patients mentioned problems in their partnerships as the main reason for the suicide attempt (63% of Swiss and 54% of Turkish patients); 14% of the Swiss but none of the Turkish suicide attempters named social isolation as a cause; 9% of the Turkish patients reported 'threat of loss/rejection of status as refugee' as the main reason. Immigrants used analgesics more often, whilst Swiss patients tended to favour benzodiazepines.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that cultural and immigration-specific issues play a role in the suicidal behaviour of immigrants. Turkish women aged between 15 and 25 years seem to be at an especially high risk.