Suicide No 2 cause of young Indians death

NEW DELHI  - Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among the young in India, a British research has revealed.

The research on suicide mortality in India, published in Britain's prestigious "The Lancet" journal on Friday, has pointed out that more than half the total suicide deaths in women and 40 percent of suicide deaths in men in this country occur between the ages of 15 and 29.

"Suicide kills nearly as many Indian men aged 15-29 as transportation accidents and nearly as many young women as complications from pregnancy and childbirth," lead author Vikram Patel of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said.

He added "Suicide is the cause of about twice as many deaths as HIV-Aids and about the same number as maternal causes of death in young women."

Interestingly, four of India's most prosperous states in the south -- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnakata and Kerala -- recorded 42 percent of suicide deaths in men and 40 percent of self-inflicted fatalities in women in 2010.

The four southern Indian states constitute nearly 22 percent of the country's population.

Strange it may sound, but farmer suicides, highlighted much in the India media, account much less deaths as compared to individuals in other professions, according to the research.

"Suicide deaths in unemployed individuals and individuals in professions other than agricultural work were, collectively, about three times greater than they were in agricultural workers," the authors said.