Suicid: Etiološka i epidemiološka razmatranja / Suicide: etiological and epidemiological considerations

Suicide is a serious issue both in medicine and public health that consumes lives of about 800,000 people per year in the world. The risk factors for suicidal behavior are studied well enough and include previous attempt of suicide, mental disorders especially depression, alcoholism and abuse of other substances, male gender, unemployment and economic crisis in the country, marital status (single), age (elder people), presence of severe chronic illness or pain etc. By eliminating those factors that can be eliminated, we can reduce the rate of suicide. In developed countries, this is achieved by defining strategies of suicide prevention and mental health improvement. Primary healthcare doctors should play an important role in this, because they are those to whom the largest number of patients comes most frequently.