Trends in suicide attempts at an emergency department

Objective: To characterize the profile of suicide attempts treated at an emergency department in the municipality of Arapiraca, state of Alagoas, Brazil, from 2009 to 2012. Methods: We analyzed all emergency department records containing a diagnosis of suicide attempt. Data were evaluated using Student’s t test and Pearson’s chi-square test. Significance was accepted at p<0.05. Results: We identified 2,142 cases. Suicide attempts were more frequent among women and young adults, but deaths were more frequent among men. Suicide attempts were most frequent among patients aged 10 to 39 year...