Risk and Protective Factor for Suicide Attempt in Iran: A Matched Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVE: In order to generate local evidence, a case-control study was designed to explore risk factors for suicide attempts (SA) in one of the larger cities in the southeast of Iran–Kerman. METHODS: From one of the main referral hospitals, 300 cases and 300 age- and sex-matched controls were recruited. On top of demographic variables, the following variables were compared in the two groups: personality traits, psychological condition, religiosity, coping skills, general health, and recent stressful events. RESULTS: Having adjusted for recent stressful events as the most important factor (OR = 1.66, P-value < 0.001), the main significant variables were: general health (1.04, P = 0.02), the support of friends (OR = 0.95, P-value = 0.04), being problem-focused mentality (OR = 0.88, P-value = 0.005), and intrinsic religiousness (OR = 0.86, P-value = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although, recent stress increased the risk of SA considerably, other factors such as general health, friends’ support, and being problem-focused may predispose subjects independently. Conversely, intrinsic religious beliefs and close social networks may have protective effects. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary approach is recommended to minimize the burden of SA in Iran.