epidemiology of self - burning in iranian townships covered by shiraz university of medical sciences

Background: self - burning is known as an extremely violent means of suicide. objectives: this study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of self - burning in iranian townships covered by shiraz university of medical sciences during years 2009 to 2012. patients and methods: this cross - sectional research was performed on 250 self - burning cases and 181 self - burning attempts. data was collected from the comprehensive suicide prevention program checklist. to analyze the data, the chi - square test and logistic regression model were utilized. results: most self - burning cases were observed in females (70.4%), married individuals (60.4%), an age group of 15 to 24 years (38%), and rural residents (60.8%). moreover, the highest and lowest self - burning cases had occurred during spring (31.2%) and fall (17.6%) (p = 0.736). conclusions: the findings are indicative of a high occurrence of self - burning among young married females. therefore, it is vital to provide this at risk group with the necessary prevention programs.