Assessment of factors influencing suicidal thoughts and attempts among population in Mosul.

BACKGROUND

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide especially in low- middle-income areas as Mosul City. It exposed to wars and various stressors for decades that directly affecting populations' stability, psych and daily life.

AIM: we aim to explore suicidal thoughts and attempts rates and their influencing risk factors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed among 652 individuals in Mosul along ten months period since March 2023. The questionnaire was distributed among them by using convenient sampling technique. According to PHQ-9 and ASQ, the sample was divided into three groups: normal people (396), suicidal thoughts (166), and suicidal attempts (90). Chi-square, Fishers' exact, and independent t-tests were used for significant association between variables.

RESULTS

One quarter (25.46%) of population had suicidal thoughts and 13.8% attempted suicide. Among the risk factors were female sex, low education, low social class, big family size, sedative drug use, introverted personality, poor family and personal relationships, bullying, severe depression, and chronic diseases (p-values 0.031 - <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Suicidal thoughts and attempts were present in high levels in Mosul City compared with other regions in the world. This should be addressed carefully while implanting national preventive and social welfare services.