Epidemiological study of suicide in the Republic of Croatia -- comparison of war and post-war periods and areas directly and indirectly affected by war.

We examined the differences in the suicide characteristics between areas directly and indirectly affected by war activities and in war and post-war periods according to the following variables: suicide rate, sex, age and method of suicide. Analysis was done on 5349 suicides committed in the period 1993-1998 (war and post-war years). The suicide rates in the Republic of Croatia oscillated in the pre-war, war and post-war periods (1985-2000) but without significant differences. In the areas directly affected by war, the suicide rate was significantly lower than in other areas during the study period 1993-1998 (chi-square = 10.3245; P = 0.0017). The number of suicides in both sexes declined in the areas directly affected by war-more in men than in women; the difference between sexes was statistically significant (chi-square = 3.6697; P = 0.055). Middle- and old-aged people were the population with high suicide risk in both areas (t = 1.76; P = 0.078). There were significant differences in the methods of suicides between war and non-war areas (chi-square = 108.8473; P = 0.001). Firearms or explosive devices were the methods used more significantly for suicides in the areas directly affected by war than in other areas, whereas hanging was more frequently used in the areas indirectly affected by war.