Suicides a major cause of deaths
UK study reveals alarming rates among young people
- Ritu Sharma, New Delhi
- India
- June 26, 2012
A recent British study has revealed suicide as one of India’s leading causes of death, especially among the young.
“People tend to take extreme steps due to the pressures put upon them from various sources, such as the government, the marketplace, in education and society in general,” said Delhi-based psychologist Pearl Drego.
She was referring to the first national study of deaths in India published in the British medical journal The Lancet, last week stating that about 40 percent of suicides were recorded by men and about 56 percent by women.
People in the 15-29 age group are more likely to take the extreme step, the study noted, making suicide the second leading cause of death among young Indians.
The rate was particularly high among well-educated young people in more affluent southern states, the study found.
A lack of support services was also cited as contributory factor.
Lead author of the study Vikram Patel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that at least 187,000 people committed suicide in India in 2010.
About half of them were due to poisoning, mainly by ingesting pesticides.
Hanging was the second most common cause, while self-immolation accounted for about one-sixth of suicides by women.
The study noted that with a decline in maternal mortality rates, suicide could soon become the leading cause of death among young women in India.
Drego said that in her class of 45 girls aged 18-20 around 30 percent of them show the potential for self-harm.
Of these girls, are all under pressure to do work in the home and perform well at schools and in colleges. In most of the cases, they are married off young, she said.
The value of life is declining and family honor is becoming more important, Drego lamented.
Increasing stress levels among the rural poor are also claiming many lives with around 250,000 farmers committing suicide in India over the last 13 years.
More than 17,000 committed suicide in 2009.
“Large companies come and take land which is their only source of income. In some cases the farmers fall so heavily into deb they take their own lives,” Drego said.
She said young people need to be encouraged in schools and communities to value themselves more.
Related reports
Church hails anti-suicide measures
“People tend to take extreme steps due to the pressures put upon them from various sources, such as the government, the marketplace, in education and society in general,” said Delhi-based psychologist Pearl Drego.
She was referring to the first national study of deaths in India published in the British medical journal The Lancet, last week stating that about 40 percent of suicides were recorded by men and about 56 percent by women.
People in the 15-29 age group are more likely to take the extreme step, the study noted, making suicide the second leading cause of death among young Indians.
The rate was particularly high among well-educated young people in more affluent southern states, the study found.
A lack of support services was also cited as contributory factor.
Lead author of the study Vikram Patel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that at least 187,000 people committed suicide in India in 2010.
About half of them were due to poisoning, mainly by ingesting pesticides.
Hanging was the second most common cause, while self-immolation accounted for about one-sixth of suicides by women.
The study noted that with a decline in maternal mortality rates, suicide could soon become the leading cause of death among young women in India.
Drego said that in her class of 45 girls aged 18-20 around 30 percent of them show the potential for self-harm.
Of these girls, are all under pressure to do work in the home and perform well at schools and in colleges. In most of the cases, they are married off young, she said.
The value of life is declining and family honor is becoming more important, Drego lamented.
Increasing stress levels among the rural poor are also claiming many lives with around 250,000 farmers committing suicide in India over the last 13 years.
More than 17,000 committed suicide in 2009.
“Large companies come and take land which is their only source of income. In some cases the farmers fall so heavily into deb they take their own lives,” Drego said.
She said young people need to be encouraged in schools and communities to value themselves more.
Related reports
Church hails anti-suicide measures
