Suicide, Second Leading Cause of Death among Young Indians

Bangalore: Suicide has become the second leading cause of death of young people in India, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to a study published in Lancet.

"Suicide kills nearly as many Indian men aged 15-29 as transportation accidents and nearly as many young women as complications from pregnancy and childbirth," said the study's lead author Vikram Patel, of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Transport accidents are the leading cause of deaths in men (about 14 percent) in India while maternal disorders are the main cause of deaths among women (about 16 percent), the study said.

After that suicide is the second leading cause of death of young people in India - 13 percent in men and 14 percent in women.

It was noted that about half of suicide deaths (49 percent among men, and 44 percent among women) were due to poisoning, mainly ingesting of pesticides. Hanging was seen to be the second most common cause for men and women, while burns accounted for about one-sixth of suicides by women.

With decline in maternal death rates, suicide could soon become the leading cause of death among young women, he said, noting further that public health interventions such as restrictions in access to pesticides might prevent many suicide deaths in India.

(With PTI inputs)