BMJ  2003;326 (24 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7399.0-d

Verbal autopsies give higher suicide rates in rural India

Verbal autopsies—assessments of the cause of death without physical examination—find suicide rates are double or triple those found using other methods. Joseph and colleagues (p 1121) used data from verbal autopsies taken during 1994-9 in a community health programme in rural southern India. Older men were more likely to commit suicide than younger men, and most women who committed suicide were aged 15-24 or over 65. Verbal autopsies can give a good idea of suicide rates, which are notoriously difficult to calculate accurately in developing countries because of census problems and because families are often reluctant to reveal the cause of death in cases of suicide.

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Relevant Article

Evaluation of suicide rates in rural India using verbal autopsies, 1994-9

A Joseph, S Abraham, J P Muliyil, K George, J Prasad, S Minz, V J Abraham, and K S Jacob
BMJ 2003 326: 1121-1122. [Full Text] [PDF]