Abstract:
-In a two year period, 300 parasuicides were admitted at Muhimbifi Hospital. Socio-demo.
graphic, clinical characteristics, trigger factors and employed methods were analyzed and discussed with
reference to other studies. Parasuicides were found to be young adults of mean age 23.7 years. The
ratio of females to males was 2.2. The majority had seven years of education and were unemployed or
underemployed. Four-fifths of attempts were triggered by acute social conflicts, psychiatric and physical
illnesses in socio-economic deprivations partly aggravated by alcohol intake. Two-thirds of parasuicides
ingested overdoses of medicaments of which chloroquine constituted 65% of all drugs. Nearly a third
of all the attempters had neuropsychiatric illnesses, while 4.3% had physical disorders. Nearly one-fifth
or 18.3% of the parasnicides had a history of mental illness in their families, and 12% had individual
or family history of previous suicidal attempts. Forty percent of the attempts were categorized as
demonstrative, 31% as genuine, 10.3% were equivocal and 18.3% were not clarified.
