Elderly Suicide: A 5-Year Forensic Autopsy Analysis in the North of Portugal
Journal Title: International Journal of Forensic Sciences - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
Elderly suicide is a well known worldwide health problem, and suicides rates, in this age range, vary considerably. However, there are still few studies published based on information collected from forensic autopsy. The aim of our study was to, through forensic autopsy analysis, investigate the sociodemographic characteristics, mental and physical health status, as well as the suicide methods of the elderly population from the North of Portugal, emphasizing the role of Forensic Medicine in suicide prevention. Between January 2010 and December 2014, a total of 11 642 forensic autopsies were performed at the North Branch of the Portuguese National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, 449cases corresponding to suicides of elderly people (65 years or older). The gender ratio male/female was 3:1. Hanging was the most frequent suicide method (48.6%) regardless gender or residence area. A positive psychiatric history was present in 71.2% of the elderly, being this group more likely to commit suicide at younger ages (p=0.000).The results of this study pointed the highly lethal nature of suicidal behavior in elderly and the intensity of their intent to die. Therefore, these data can constitute an important guide to have in account to establish strategies for suicide prevention in elderly population, proving that the contribution of Forensic Medicine in suicide prevention is important and necessary, and it shouldn’t be neglected, considering the eminently social character of this medical discipline.
Authors and Affiliations
Baptista MJ*, Azevedo J, Mendes R, Relvas A, and Santos A
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP745962
- DOI 10.23880/ijfsc-16000106
- Views 25
- Downloads 0
Concept Mapping, Social Value, and Public Administration: Public Administration in the Mind of the Public it Serves
Public Administration has a considerable history creating marked advancements in public policy, education and governance. Yet despite the fact it has such a history, a professional membership organization, bachelor’s an...
Can Criminal Law Instruments Implement the Concept of Restorative Justice?
Restorative justice underlies various legal solutions all over the world. The Polish legislator also made reference to restorative justice by including the settlement between the offender and the victim among sentencing...
Forensic Micropigmentation
In the field of forensic science, the use of micropigmentation, cosmetic tattooing, micro blading or permanent makeup has had no relevance in criminal investigations and trials at this time. Moreover, there are no known...
Were Moses and Aaron the First Bioterrorists?
The exodus of the Israelite slaves from Egypt was a momentous event in religious history. The Pharaoh had refused to free them until a series of ten plagues occurred sometime between 1570-1550 BCE. During the fifth plag...
Forensic Biotechnology: Application of Flow Cytometry in Legal Medicine
Precision in experiment is one of the most important parameter in the field of Science. To obtain the precise result sophisticated instrumentations are required. In the field of forensic science, a forensic scientist mus...