OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of suicide attempts and suicide mortality in the municipality of Santa Maria de Jetibá, inside Espírito Santo, from 2001 to 2007. METHOD: A descriptive, observational and quantitative study. The identification of cases of suicide attempts and suicides occurred through the police records from the Military Police of the city, where we selected all cases. Frequency tables were used and tests of hypotheses Student t and Chi-square in the data analysis. RESULTS: The average mortality rate from suicide was 12.9/100,000. It was found that women carry out more suicide attempts, while men were more efficient, more committing suicide (p = 0.008). The average age for victims of suicide attempts was 30 ± 10.1 years and suicide 42 ± 14.9 years (p = 0.001). The most frequently used methods for cases of suicide was hanging (57.1%), while for attempts was pesticide poisoning (42.5%). CONCLUSION: It was found that the profile of suicidal person differs from the one who try, especially by gender, age and media used, emphasizing the need to initiate discussions about programs, treatment and prevention for vulnerable groups.
Attempted suicide; suicide
