الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. Over one million people die of suicide every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that it is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide. It is a major leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under 35 years. Suicide is also the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. There are an estimated 16 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.
The present study aimed to study the magnitude of the problem of suicide in Alexandria including its causes and methods, and to identify the high risk groups with special regard to age, sex and to social, mental and psychological state of the victims. In addition, to identify any possible changes in the incidence and pattern of suicide during the period of instability following the Egyptian revolution in January 2011.
The study entailed two parts: a retrospective part and a prospective one. The data of retrospective study was retrieved from the medico-legal reports of cases of suicidal death referred to the Directorate of Forensic Medicine in Alexandria for autopsy during a period of four years starting from 1st of January 2008 till the end of December 2011. The prospective study included all cases of suicidal death referred to the Directorate of Forensic Medicine in Alexandria for autopsy over six months starting from 1st of January 2012 till the end of June 2012. The total number of suicidal cases during the whole period of study was 205 (177 in retrospective& 28 in prospective study).
Demographic data and personal history were recorded for all cases (age, sex, marital status, residence, education, occupation religion, place, date and method of suicide, history of psychological troubles drug or alcohol abuse, menses in females, previous suicidal attempts and presence of suicidal note). In addition, results of forensic examination were also recorded for each case, including presence of associated injuries, signs of severe illness or sexual or physical abuse and toxicology laboratory results.
The current study revealed that 11.5% of autopsied cases during the study period were suicidal cases, with the highest percentage of cases was recorded in year
2010 (15.1%) followed by year 2009 (12.4%) and the least was (9.5%) in 2008.