Kort Ikram, Hmandi Ons, Manoubi Syrine Azza, Bchir Khaled, Bellali Mohamed, Allouche Mohamed
University Tunis El Manar, Department of Legal Medicine, Charles Nicolle Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia.
University Tunis El Manar, Department of Legal Medicine Taher Maamouri Hospital, Nabeul, Tunis, Tunisia.
J Forensic Leg Med. 2025 May;112:102881. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2025.102881. Epub 2025 Apr 21.
Suicide by jumping from height is a violent and relatively common method of suicide. There is little data on suicide by jumping from height in the Arab region and North African countries. In this study, we aim to analyze the patterns of suicide by jumping from height in Northern Tunisia.
Autopsy records of all cases of suicide by jumping from height were included over a period of 16 years (January 2005 to December 2020). The collected data included epidemiological characteristics, medical history and autopsy observations.
we collected a total of 147 cases of suicide by jumping from height. Among the cases, 69.4 % were men. The average age of the cases was 41.8 ± 16.4 years (range 15-85 years). A history of psychiatric disorder was reported in 58.5 % of cases. Schizophrenia was the most common psychiatric diagnosis (23.8 %), followed by depression (13.6 %). Among the cases, 27.9 % had a history of previous suicide attempt. The suicidal fall occurred most frequently in a private residence (70.8 %). The average height of the falls was 10.4 ± 7.3 m (range 2-50 m). The most frequent injury site was determined to be the head (70.1 %) followed by the chest (68 %), the spine (56 %). Skeletal trauma mainly included fractures of the ribs (75.5 %), the spine (56 %), the skull (53.5 %) and the pelvis (29.3 %).
Suicide by jumping from height is most common in young unemployed men, with psychiatric history, who jump from a private residence. This pattern would help planning preventive strategies.
跳楼自杀是一种暴力且相对常见的自杀方式。阿拉伯地区和北非国家关于跳楼自杀的数据较少。在本研究中，我们旨在分析突尼斯北部的跳楼自杀模式。
纳入了16年期间（2005年1月至2020年12月）所有跳楼自杀案例的尸检记录。收集的数据包括流行病学特征、病史和尸检观察结果。
我们共收集了147例跳楼自杀案例。其中，69.4%为男性。案例的平均年龄为41.8±16.4岁（范围15 - 85岁）。58.5%的案例报告有精神疾病史。精神分裂症是最常见的精神疾病诊断（23.8%），其次是抑郁症（13.6%）。在这些案例中，27.9%有过自杀未遂史。自杀性坠落最常发生在私人住宅（70.8%）。坠落的平均高度为10.4±7.3米（范围2 - 50米）。最常受伤的部位是头部（70.1%），其次是胸部（68%）、脊柱（56%）。骨骼创伤主要包括肋骨骨折（75.5%）、脊柱骨折（56%）、颅骨骨折（53.5%）和骨盆骨折（29.3%）。
有精神病史的年轻失业男性从私人住宅跳楼自杀最为常见。这种模式将有助于制定预防策略。
