Epidemiology of Suicide Attempts in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria

Yakubu Ibrahim Anas; Bakare Tomori Abdulfatai; Umar Musa Usman; Sani Bako Abubakar; Abubakar Ahmad; Bello  Amira; Sanusi Yusuf Abdallah; Abdullahi Uzairu; Abdurrahman Zakariyya; Ibrahim Hadi Abdulaziz; Sarki Junaidu; Mohammad Danmadami Abdulaziz; Mohammad Wali Asma'u; Ladan Aliyu; Abubakar Bunza Habibu; Abdullahi Dangulbi Shamsu; Muhammad Ibrahim Gidado; Abdulsalam Inuwa Shamsuddini

doi:10.5455/JPHCM.20241221104035

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Suicide is a significant global cause of fatality and morbidity, with about 800,000 mortality annually, and it disproportionately affects low- and middle-income states. In Nigeria, the suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 supersedes global and regional averages, emphasizing its preventable yet significant impact.
AIM: To determine the epidemiology of suicide attempts in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria among attempts at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 19 respondents were recruited over a twelve-month period using a census sampling technique. Self-designed tools were employed to collect data on participants' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The severity of suicidal intent among the respondents who had attempted suicide were assessed with the use of the Beck Suicide Intent Scale (SIS). Statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS version 25 (IBM SPSS Statistics for IOS, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 32.6 years (SD ± 12.1) and the predominant age category was between 21 and 40 years (57.9%, n=11). Slightly more than half were of the male gender (52.6%, n=10). The level of education of the majority was secondary school education or below (68.4%, n=13) and most respondents belonged to the medium socioeconomic class (52.6%, n=10). The majority of the participants reported were diagnosed with major depressive disorder (47.4%, n=9) and a slight majority had no suicide attempts (57.9%, n=11). The most common method of suicide attempt was poisoning (36.8%, n=7). The main motivation for suicide attempts was to die (47.4%, n=9).
CONCLUSION: In our setting, suicide attempts occur predominantly among younger, unmarried, unemployed individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, with depressive disorder being the most common diagnosis and poisoning as the primary method, peaking in February and November.

Key words: Deliberate self-harm, Suicide, Suicide attempts, Poisoning.