Objective:

to analyze the epidemiological and toxicological profile of suicide cases in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 2017 and 2018.

Methods:

this was a cross-sectional study with data from police incident reports and state General Forensic Institute records; multiple correspondence analyses were performed and logistic regression models were built.

Results:

there were 2,564 suicides (11.3/100,000 inhabitants/year), mostly involving males (79.4%), and the 50-54 years age group (10.3%); the main method was hanging (72.5%); positive results for ethanol were found in 29.1% of cases and for other psychotropic drugs in 36.1% of cases; young people were 4.5 times (95%CI 2.7;7.7) and 2.4 times (95%CI 1.5;3.6) more likely to be the victims when there were positive results for an illegal substance or parental absence, respectively.

Conclusion:

male and adult victims predominated, hanging was the most common means, and, in one third of the cases, psychotropic drugs were present.

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