A Post-mortem Observational Study of Suspicious Deaths in Married Females Aged 30 Years or Less

Introduction – Suspicious death in married female is always a sensitive case and needs our full attention. So, current study was undertaken at S.S.G. Hospital, Vadodara for a period of 1 year. Material & Method –Of all cases coming for the postmortem examination, cases in which the victim is female and below 30 years of age were taken for the study when there was suspicion regarding the cause of death. Results – Out of all the medico-legal autopsies 5.7 % autopsies were Unnatural deaths of married females less than 30 years old. Maximum number (40 %) of deaths were observed in the age group of 21-25 years. (86.65 %) of female deaths occurred within 0-7 years of marriage. 75.55 % of deaths were suicidal in nature followed by accidental (18.88 %). Statistical Analysis –The data collected was analyzed using MS Excel worksheets for averages and percentage. Conclusion – Many of the findings of current study were correlated with earlier studies, while others were found contradictory. Further detailed study with larger sample size is required.