Estimating patterns in the under-reporting of suicide deaths in India: Comparison of administrative data and Global Burden of Disease Study estimates, 2005-2015

Abstract

Background It has been proposed that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which reports suicides in India, differentially underenumerates suicides by geographic and demographic factors. We assessed the extent of potential underenumeration by comparing suicides recorded in NCRB data with recent estimates of Indian suicides developed by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) initiative. Methods Age-standardised suicide rates were calculated for both data sources by sex, age and state, and rate ratios of NCRB to GBD estimates by corresponding strata were compared to ascertain the relative under-reporting in the NCRB report. Results The GBD Study reported an additional 802 684 deaths by suicide..