A case series on suicide by hanging: a prospective study conducted in Mumbai region

Background and aims: The present scenario of globalisation, urbanization and industrialization is creating lot of stress on individual in particular as well as on the society in common. Person who are not able to sustain these stressful situations are the major victims of suicidal deaths. Materials and methods: Present study is carried out at the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology and post mortem centre of a tertiary care hospital and a medical college in Mumbai region. Suicidal hanging cases over the last two years were included for this study. The statistical analysis was carried out using the Microsoft Excell and SPSS software 18. Ethical clearance was obtained from the ethics committee of the institute. Results: A total 124 cases of hanging were studied in detail. Out of 124 suicide cases 77 were males (62.10%) and 47 were females that is 37.90%. Fifty-seven victims were of age group between 21 to 30 years (45.97%). Privacy for suicide was maintained by selecting lonely place by 97 cases (78.22%). Conclusion: The most commonly affected age group was between 21 to 30 years. In the present study male victims (62.10%) outnumbered the female victims. The lower socioeconomic group was more vulnerable (49.5%) for suicide. Most victims were married and committed suicide due to unemployment and money crisis. The commonest cause of suicide in housewives was marital disharmony and dowry related issues.