Review of Self-immolation Referrals to Fire and Burn Injuries Center of Shahid Motahari Hospital, Tehran, between 2006 to 2011

Aim: Suicide is one of the most heart- rending causes of injury and death in the world. In Iran, suicide is the fifth cause of loss of valuable years of people's life. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological and demographic factors in self- immolation cases.

Method: In this retrospective study, medical records of all victims of Self-immolation cases referred to Shahid Motahari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between March 2006 to March 2011 were identified. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL).

Results: A total of 251 patients were studied including 119(47.20%) women and 132(52.4%) men. The patient's mean age was 33 years old. 156(61.9%) were married, 89(35.3%) were single and 6(2.4%) were divorced. 196(77.8%) cases occurred in cities and 51(20.2%) occurred in village. Mortality rate was 60% in this study. There was a significant relationship between sex and region (P<0.001), sex and burning means (P<0.001), educational levels and burning means (P<0.03), age and cause of burning (P<0.05) and burning percentage and burning means (P<0.001). A significant negative correlation was obtained between the burning percentage and duration of hospitalization. Conclusion: self- immolation was more common in men; mean age of women was higher than men; and its most common age was 30 years old. The most widespread means were flammable liquids.