Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of suicide cases in the elderly, identify risk factors and discuss preventive measures.

Methods: Forensic files of forensic death cases from the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty cases aged 65 years and older who died by suicide were included in the study.    

Results: Among the cases, 14 (70%) were male. The mean age was 77.1±9 (min=65, max=93) years, and 65% of the cases were 75 years or older. The most common method of suicide was hanging (n=12, 60%). Only two of the cases were employed. Eleven cases (55%) committed suicide at home. A suicide note was found at the scene in only one case. A history of psychiatric illness was found in eight cases (40%). In addition, relatives of five cases (25%) stated that the case had depressive symptoms before committing suicide.

Conclusion: Suicide attempts are more likely to result in death because elderly people use more lethal suicide methods than younger people. Practices aimed at reducing suicide attempts in the elderly population should be given more importance.

Keywords: autopsy, cause of suicide, elderly suicides, suicide note, suicide methods

Copyright and license

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article published by Bolu İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Hösükler E, Erkol ZZ, Özdeş T, Turan T, Yazgı BK. Elderly suicides in Bolu province. Northwestern Med J. 2025;5(2):98-103. https://doi.org/10.54307/2025.NWMJ.100

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