Retrospective analysis of suicide cases in the province of Ferrara

Introduction: In 2016, the Postgraduate School of Forensic Medicine of the University of Ferrara presented a paper at the Annual Congress of the AAFS that analyzed some characteristics of suicides in the territory of the Province of Ferrara between 1996 and July 2016. This presentation is intended to stand as an ideal follow-up to that work. Since 2017, the number of suicides in Italy has been progressively decreasing and peaked in 2021 (0.40 per 10,000 inhabitants). In Emilia-Romagna, available data confirm a steady decline in the number of suicides since 2001. Materials and methods: Records collecting necrosectorial activity of the Institute were retrospectively analyzed. During the period between August 2016 and April 2025, about 1000 autopsies were performed, 153 of which involved suicide cases. For each of these autopsies, factors regarding the people who committed suicide, as well as the suicide method and the type of activity carried out by the Institute pathologists were examined. Results and discussion: Among deaths by suicide, 77% are male (118 vs 35), with percentages not dissimilar to those between 1996 and 2016. The most frequently used suicide method is confirmed to be hanging (49%), followed by the use of firearms (15.6%) and precipitation (9.8%). Suicide cases come to the attention of the Institute overwhelmingly at the request of the Judicial Authority (87.2%) with judicial autopsy performed in 60% of cases. Thus, the data collected show that suicide trends have not changed over the past nine years and are in line with national data.