Background and purpose: Suicide is one of the most important social issues and a major cause of mortality in Iran. This study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with suicide deaths in Eyvan, Iran.

Materials and methods: Data of all registered suicide cases during 2005-2011 in Eyvan was obtained from the suicide registry in Ilam province. Chi-square test was used to evaluate the relationship between qualitative variables, and logistic regression multivariate analysis was performed to assess the association between potential risk factors and suicide.

Results: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 820 cases (mean age: 24.9±9.7 years), including 395 (48.2%) males and 425 (51.8%) females, had attempted suicide. Suicide resulted in death in 56 (7.1%) cases. The majority of the study population were single (64%) and about 50% were unemployed. The most common methods of suicide were drug poisoning and self-immolation. There was a significant relationship between marital status, educational level, method of suicide, age (P<0.01), and time of the event (P<0.05) and the suicide outcome. Risk of death due to suicide was four times higher in married individuals, compared to single ones. Moreover, illiterate individuals were 80% more likely to die after suicide, compared to literate ones. Suicide through self-immolation caused death 12 times more than that of agricultural pesticides.

Conclusion: According to this study, suicide is a serious problem in Eyvan district. Risk of death due to suicide was found to be higher in married and illiterate individuals, as well as those who committed suicide through self-immolation. These results could be of great use for taking preventive measures.