Psychological autopsy study of suicide risk factors in the Colombian Coffee Region, 2017-2019
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Objective:
To identify demographic, psychosocial, and life cycle risk factors for suicides in the Colombian Coffee zone between second half of 2017 and the end of 2019.
Methods:
A matched case-control design. A sample of 176 individuals, of which 101 were suicides (cases) and 75 were deaths by road traffic accidents (controls); psychological autopsies were used for research purposes. Penalized maximum likelihood logistic regression analyzes were conducted, indicating odds ratio of suicide, adjusting for sex, age group, province of legal autopsy and source of data. Logistic regressions were applied in three blocks: mental health issues, psychoactive substance use, and adversities during the life course. Statistical analysis was done with Stata®
Results:
78.2% of cases and 84.0% of controls were male. The mean age of cases was 39 years, and of controls, 43 years. The key risk factors for suicide, at p< 0.05, were forced labor during adolescence (OR: 32.41), financial dependence (OR: 4.3), verbal or physical abuse from the partner (OR: 10.28), any mental disorder (OR: 26.14), previous suicide attempt (OR: 11.64; p= 0.061), and record of major depressive disorder (OR: 24.86). A protective factor was death of a close relative at some point in life (OR: 0.34; p= 0.073).
Conclusions:
Forced labor in adolescence, verbal and physical abuse from the partner, financial dependence on others, any mental disorder, major depressive disorder, and previous suicide attempts were risk factors of suicide; the death of any close relative at some point in life was a protective factor of suicide.
- Hostility
- Physical Abuse
- Life Change Events
- Coroners and Medical Examiners
- Mental Disorders
- Autopsy
- Suicide
Carolina González Zapata, Universidad de Caldas
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9583-108X
Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
Oscar Mauricio Castaño Ramírez , Universidad de Caldas
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1071-6307
Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
Jairo Franco Londoño , Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1286-6330
Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, Regional Occidente, Pereira, Colombia
Juan Carlos Medina Osorio , Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7132-872X
Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, Regional Occidente, Pereira, Colombia
Jennifer Nessim Salazar, Universidad del Valle
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2758-5104
Instituto CISALVA, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
Germán Moreno-Gómez , Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5210-2517
Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Leonardo Beltrán, Universidad Central del Valle del Cauca
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6287-6815
Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Unidad Central del Valle del Cauca, Tuluá, Colombia
María Catalina Echeverri-Londoño , Corporación Universitaria Empresarial Alexander von Humboldt
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6245-5148
Corporación Universitaria Empresarial Alexander Von Humboldt, Armenia, Colombia
Luz Damaris Rojas, Universidad Central del Valle del Cauca
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9483-8212
Unidad Central del Valle del Cauca, Tuluá, Colombia
Andrés Fandiño-Losada, Universidad del Valle
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3385-7380
Instituto CISALVA, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
Universidad del Valle, Facultad de Salud, Escuela de Salud Pública, Cali, Colombia
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Published 2025-03-17
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