Abstract

Objective: Stress and life changes such as ageing, spouse’s death, divorce, marriage, job loss, retirement, illness, interpersonal relationships and a history of suicide ideation or attempt may be considered risk factors for suicide attempts. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress and suicide. Design: Case-controlled and retrospective study. Participants: Patients referred to the Emergency Poisoning Unit of Yazd, were used as a case group and other ad-mitted patients with various plans and etiologies were a control group, matched on age, gender, marital status and place of residence. Settings: Patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire including age, gender, economic status, marital status, place of residence, a background of suicide, and history of family members’ suicide as well as the Holmes-Rahe scale. SPSS 16, chi-square and t-test were used for analyzing data. Results: Comparing the Holmes-Rahe stress scale’s scores of the case group (312.9±84.60) and control group (224.62±85.57) showed a significant statistical difference (P<0.0001). Regarding stress intensity, the score in the case group showed 6% mild stress, 40% moderate stress, 54% severe stress, and in the control group, 13%, 61% and 26%, respectively. Holmes-Rahe stress scale score of stress intensity showed a significant statistical difference be-tween groups (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that stress was associated with increased suicide attempts.