Suicide in the elderly

Abstract

A study was carried out at the Guantanamo Provincial Legal Medicine Center, with the purpose of characterizing the suicides that occurred in the elderly in Guantánamo Province in the years 2010-2011. The total number of cases studied was 95, of which 24 met the criteria for the investigation. The data contained in the autopsies performed and the statistical books of the Center for Provincial Legal Medicine are collected. Variables were studied: age groups, marital status, schooling, and types of suicides by sex. Suicide predominates in the male sex, between 60 and 69 years old, single, with primary schooling and the most used method of hanging. It is recommended to carry out a prophylactic-educational intervention with the elderly and relatives, according to the data obtained, to work on the avoidable causes of violent deaths in order to prevent them.