Suicide is second leading cause of death among Indian youth: Study

24 June, 2012

Various social pressures force people to end their lives. A survey shows people in the age group of 15-29 commit suicide the most.

ACCORDING TO a latest study, India is one of the countries with the highest suicide rates in the world and more than half of these suicides of women and 40 percent in men take place between the age group of 15 to 29.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) 1.7 lakh people in India kill themselves each year. WHO also stated that 9 lakh people commit suicide worldwide and China is far worse with 2 lakh people committing suicide every year.

According to Samachar.com, this is the first study of its kind where the suicide rate of countries was measured. The study found that 2,684 of 95,335 deaths that come to 3 percent are from the age group of 15 and above. Of these deaths, 40 percent of men choose to die and 56 percent women, which occur between the ages of 15-29.

Talking about the survey, Prof. Vikram Patel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who is the lead author of the study, said, “Prior to this national survey of deaths, we simply did not know the cause of death of many Indians.” This survey also observes that suicide kills as many men as traffic accidents do and as many women as pregnancy complication does.

The suicide rates were found to be high in rural India, especially in the southern part of the country such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Maharashtra in the western India. This study is due to be published in the Lancet.