Epidemiology of Suicide in Pakistan: Determining Rates in Six Cities

Abstract

In recent years suicide has become a major public health problem in Pakistan. Despite this there are no official statistics on suicide and national rates are unknown. To determine rates we carried out an analysis of suicide reports from six cities in Pakistan. Rates vary from 0.43/100,000 in Peshawar to 2.86/100,000 in Rawalpindi. Rates for men are consistently higher than women; highest rates for men were 7.06/100,000 between the ages 20-40 years in Larkana, Sindh province. Given the legal, socio-cultural, and religious stigma of suicides in Pakistan, we believe these figures to be an underestimate. There is urgent need for a standard system of recording of suicides in Pakistan, so that true rates can be determined. This will help in informing policy and monitoring effectiveness of suicide prevention programs.

Suicide Methods in Asia: Implications in Suicide Prevention

“…In addition to the Philippines, Muslim countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey had relatively lower suicide rates (<6.5/100,000), with Iran having the lowest (male: 0.3/100,000; female: 0.1/100,000). Due to stigmatization and legal sanctions against suicide, under-reporting of suicide rates in these Muslim countries may partly contribute to the extremely low rate [6,10]. Overall, majority of the Asian countries had lower male-to-female suicide gender ratios (<2.0) compared to their western counterparts [7].…”

Trends in suicide among migrants in England and Wales 1979–2003

“…By contrast, high rates among Scotland-born men and women are consistent with high levels in Scotland (Platt et al 2007) and declining rates mirror recent small declines in the home country among those born in Northern Ireland (Brock, et al 2006). In the absence of official national statistics on suicide in Pakistan, recent estimates suggest very low rates for both men and women (Khan et al 2008). National data in India indicate a trend of declining rates between 1999 and 2009 but higher rates in the rural South compared to the North of India (National Crime Records Bureau 2009).…”

“…National data in India indicate a trend of declining rates between 1999 and 2009 but higher rates in the rural South compared to the North of India (National Crime Records Bureau 2009). The difficulties in enumerating death rates from suicide in Pakistan and India (such as poor denominator data, varying standards in death certification, stigma and legal repercussions (Khan et al 2008)), as elsewhere in low- and middle-income countries, means that suicide and self-harm are likely to be under-enumerated in these countries. Rates in home countries, therefore, go some way to explaining the relatively low risk among Pakistani men and women, previous higher mortality among Indian women and higher risk among Scotland-born men, but do not illuminate suicide mortality inequalities for men born in Jamaica or the Irish Republic.…”

An Alarming Situation of Suicide Patterns and Methods Involved in Pakistan

“…The suicide rate in cities of Pakistan is at alarming level; 0.43/100,000 Peshawar and 2.86/100,000 in Rawalpindi [4]. In Sindh (Province of Pakistan), the rate of suicide is higher among males than females [5]. Moreover, males in age of 20 to 40 years are at high risk of attempting suicide (7.06/100,000) than females [6].…”