Suicides in young people in rural southern India.

Different rates of suicide have been reported in India. In Vellore, southern India, we have noted that the rates of suicides are several fold higher than those reported anywhere in the world, especially in young women. The department of community health at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, has obtained data prospectively on births, deaths, and morbidity in a population of 108?000. We used the verbal autopsy method to assign cause of death. The mortality rates were analysed for 10 years, from 1992 to 2001, for the age-group 10-19 years. Suicides accounted for about a quarter of all deaths in young men and between 50% and 75% of all deaths in young women. The average suicide rate for young women was 148 per 100?000, and for young men 58 per 100?000. We believe that our findings are reliable. The system of surveillance is well established and the verbal autopsy method has been validated. These very high rates of suicide need urgent intervention.

Medico-social dimensions of menopause: a cross-sectional study from rural south India.

BACKGROUND: The quality of life of the increasing ageing population is becoming an important issue in India. There are very little data on the effect of menopause on women, especially from rural India. METHOD: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on perceptions regarding menopause, prevalence of menopausal symptoms and association of family environmental factors with menopausal symptoms among 100 postmenopausal and 100 premenopausal rural women in south India. RESULTS: Fifty-seven per cent of postmenopausal women perceived menopause as convenient. Sixty-nine per cent of them complained of diminishing abilities after menopause. Twenty-three per cent felt that sexual life ends with the onset of menopause. Sixteen per cent reported that their husbands had become disinterested in them after menopause and I1% were apprehensive about the loss of femininity. A higher proportion of postmenopausal women reported hot flushes, night sweats, urge incontinence and other somatic symptoms as compared to premenopausal women. Fifty-four per cent of postmenopausal and 32% of premenopausal women were currently not sexually active. Fifty-nine per cent of postmenopausal and 38% of premenopausal women expressed loss of sexual desire and this difference was statistically significant. There was no significant association between menopause and depression. A poor perceived relationship within the family was shown to have a significant association with depression. There was a significant association between multiple somatic symptoms and menopause. CONCLUSION: A significantly higher proportion of postmenopausal women suffer from vasomotor symptoms, urge incontinence, loss of sexual desire and multiple somatic symptoms. They do not link these symptoms with menopause. Poor family environmental factors have a stronger association with depression than menopause. In view of these findings, it is important to determine the feasibility and impact of hormone replacement therapy in preventive health care in rural India.