Suicide Reattempt Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Mashhad's Population-Based Registry, 2019-2022

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a serious global public health issue, which is the fourth-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 29. This study aimed to be conducted to investigate the factors affecting suicide reattempts.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Sina Electronic Health Registration System and the HIS of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran covering around 90% of suicide attempts in Mashhad's government hospitals (2019-2022). The study population included all Mashhad residents with documented suicide attempts in this period. Descriptive analysis was followed by a Poisson multivariable regression to identify factors affecting suicide attempt frequency, with analyses conducted in Stata version 14 and significance set at P<0.05.

Results: Among 5,737 participants, 3,157 (55.0%) were men. The overall rate of suicide reattempt was 10.1% (n=580). Suicide reattempts were more prevalent among men (55.5% of reattempts, n=322), individuals with mental disorders (16.0%, n=93), substance users (7.8%, n=45), single persons (66.6%, n=386), those with high school education (47.6%, n=276), and self-employed individuals (45.7%, n=265). Poisson regression analysis revealed that substance users had a 43% higher likelihood of reattempting suicide compared to non-users (IRR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.27-1.61, p<0.001), after adjusting for other variables.

Conclusion: Identifying risk factors for suicide reattempt, such as drug abuse, may be effective in identifying high-risk groups and preventing suicide reattempts.

Keywords: Iran; Poisson multivariate; Risk factors; Suicide; Suicide reattempt.