Epidemiology of Suicide with Cold Weapon in Fars Province During 2011–2019

Even though attempted suicide with a cold weapon is not a very common method of suicide, this is easily accessible to the general public. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the epidemiology of suicide with cold weapon in Fars Province between 2011 and 2019. This cross-sectional study enrolled a total of 867 cases of suicide attempts with cold weapon in Fars Province. First, the fatality rate, crude mortality, and age-standardized rate were calculated. Chi-square test was used to determine the trend of completed suicide attempts and also to examine the relationship between qualitative variables and final outcome. During the study period, 867 cases of suicide attempt with cold weapon occurred in Fars Province. The average age of the study participants was 33.21 ± 16.82 years. Also, 63.90% of the participants were men, 57.43% were single, and 29.18% had nongovernmental jobs. The highest rate of cold weapon suicide was observed in the age group of 15–24 years. Of 867 cases of cold weapon suicide attempts, 28 died (the overall mortality rate was equal to 3.31%). The highest mortality rate of cold weapon suicide was also reported in the age group of >65 years (20%), followed by the age group of 55–64 years (18.18%). According to the findings of this study, improved awareness about national and regional suicide patterns is vital and inevitable in better understanding suicide mechanisms and determining guidelines and developing new laws and regulations to prohibit free access to a wide range of cold arms, such as daggers and blades.