Suicide ideation among medical students: a cross sectional study from South India

Background Suicide ideation is a neglected issue in our society. Information on suicidal ideation is lacking in India. Objectives This study was conducted to study the prevalence of suicide ideation and its associated risk factors among medical students at Mangalore, India. Methods This pilot study was conducted on medical students by using a self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected from second year students on baseline characteristics, habits, thought of suicide ideation, and thought of life as burden. The collected data was analysed using SPSS V.11.5. χ 2 test was used to determine the risk factors and their significance was reported at p Results Out of 305 students who filled questionnaire completely (response rate 87%), 119 (39%) were males and 186 (61%) were females. Around 8.3% (n=25) admitted alcohol consumption, 4.3% (n=13) were smokers, 3% (n=9) admitted to having tried/done substance abuse. More than half (172; 56.39%) were dissatisfied with academic performance (p=0.002), 34 (55.7%) students had broken up with their close friends (p=0.009), and 20 (6.56%) felt neglected by the parents/family. One fifth of respondents (61; 20%) had reported suicide ideation, 24 (7.9%) have given serious thought to committing suicide, 28 students (9.5%) consider their life as a burden. Significance Dissatisfaction in academics, neglect by the family, and break up with close friends had significant association with suicide ideation. These issues can be tackled by counselling. The awareness generated could be helpful in avoiding suicide. Also, quantification of the problem is the first step in prevention.