By analyzing the data from 33 longitudinal studies — and 10,253,101 participants — we determined that alcohol use is a substantial risk factor for death by suicide. In fact, we found that alcohol use increased the risk of death by suicide by a frightening demi lovato age 94 per cent. In the analyzed period, the total of 14,660 self-poisoning suicide attempts resulted in 2258 deaths (15.4%). Medical drugs are also a common means of fatal poisoning, mostly in developed countries, with increased hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers. The widespread use of these medical drugs, also due to medical prescriptions, has increased over time, as indicated by the selected study conducted in France. The role of the medical doctor is essential, and suicide by consuming medical drugs, especially in Western countries, highlights the necessity of training of the relevant doctors better [49,50,51].
Of the 584 cases, 41.8% (244) were of poisoning, of which, 86% (210) were cases of suicide. The remaining cases were of accidental poisoning and involved mainly adults. Most suicides by consuming poison involved the 21–30 age group (36.2%). The most frequently found substance in toxicological analyses, carried out using GC-SM methods, were organophosphates (pesticides, 61.9%), followed by insecticides such as carbamates (18.4%) and other organic derivatives. In the past 20 years, a decrease in deaths due to pesticide poisoning has been observed (from around 260,000 a year to 160,000 a year).
Toxicological Findings of Self-Poisoning Suicidal Deaths: A Systematic Review by Countries
The investigation of deaths by poisoning requires a standardized methodology, the cooperation of experts in multiple forensic sciences, cross-examination, and a cross-talk between laboratory toxicologists and pathologists [7,8]. However, toxicological forensic diagnosis is extremely varied, with significant differences in laboratory capacities and technical developments across countries [9,10]. Relative frequencies of various methods used for self-harm have varied over time, and they do vary by setting, population type, and country [19]. Cases of death by suicide depending on the state of consciousness have been listed in the statistics since 2017 (Table 4). Since 2017, there has been a steady decline in the number of suicides under the influence of alcohol.
Rates of alcohol-induced deaths were highest during 2013 to 2017 among individuals aged 50 to 64 years but increased most rapidly among individuals aged 20 to 34 years and are exceedingly high among American Indian and Alaska Native individuals. However, the states with the most rapid increases differed by cause of death. Hot spot analysis identified statistically significant clusters of US counties with high (hot spots) and low (cold spots) drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced death rates (Figure 3). The largest significant cluster of counties with elevated drug poisoning death rates extended from the Northeast into Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and parts of Virginia and North Carolina. Additional significant hot spots were identified in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma. In contrast, the significant hot spots in suicide and alcohol-induced death rates were largely confined to the western half of the US, with hot spots for both causes of death from Montana and North Dakota to New Mexico and Arizona.
- To properly plan preventive actions, it is necessary to determine the scale of a particular problem.
- Toxicological examinations of organs, blood, urine, and gastric contents reported medical drugs in 15.71% of the cases (22 cases, 11 hypnotics, antipsychotics, and 6 antiarrhythmic drugs).
- The purpose of the present study was to analyze suicide attempts by intoxication, suicides as such, and substances influencing the state of consciousness of suicide victims in Poland in the years covered by the study.
- It can be hard to decide if you think someone is drunk enough to need medical help.
- Poland does not have one statistical database with the number of suicides.
Another study [36], conducted retrospectively on 588 autopsy cases related to suicides, revealed that 30.6% of the cases were of suicide by the intentional consumption of organophosphates and local plants, followed by other compounds in agricultural use. The mean age was about 25 years, with no particular gender difference. A positive history of suicide attempts was present in 14% of the cases; meanwhile, in 22% of the cases, there was a history alcohol intake. Among people who die by suicide, alcoholism is the second-most common mental disorder, and is involved in roughly one in four deaths by suicide. As a psychologist and scientist, my research aims to understand whether alcohol actually increases the risk of dying by suicide.
Methods
One potential danger of alcohol overdose is choking on one’s own vomit. Alcohol at very high levels can hinder signals in the brain that control automatic responses, such as the gag reflex. With no gag reflex, a person who drinks to the point of passing out is in danger of choking on their vomit and dying from a lack of oxygen (i.e., asphyxiation). Even if the person survives, an alcohol overdose like this can lead to long-lasting brain damage. Alcohol use and taking opioids or sedative hypnotics, such as sleep and anti-anxiety medications, can increase your risk of an overdose. Examples of these medications include sleep aids, such as zolpidem and eszopiclone, and benzodiazepines, such as diazepam and alprazolam.
It can be hard to decide if you think someone is drunk enough to need medical help. You may worry about what will happen to you or a friend or family member, especially if underage. But the results of not getting help in time can be far more serious.
This cross-sectional study compared patterns and trends in drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced premature death rates by geography and demographic characteristics. This systematic review analyzed the cases of suicide carried out by consuming licit or illicit substances. The analysis focused on evaluating the number of suicides the geographical areas where these occurred and the correlation between social, medical, and demographic characteristics of the victim and the toxicological findings of the autopsy.
On the basis of the whats in whippits literature search, 1338 studies were identified. To begin with, 494 duplicates were removed, and 914 records were screened. After full-text evaluation, another 208 records were excluded because they were unspecific. And G.D.A. If there was a conflict of opinions regarding the articles, they were submitted to A.A. A detailed flow chart of the selection process is provided in Figure 1.
Statistical Analysis
The study included data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, in which 115,202 suicides—including 87,771 men and 27,431 women ages 18 and up—were reported between 2003 and 2018. Suicides among people who had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 g/dL or greater were considered alcohol involved. Until 2013, the statistics of the GPHP always showed the number of suicides, which was about 2000 less than the number reported by the GUS. In the year 2013, GPHP changed the method of collecting and generating statistical data on suicide attempts.
Therefore, significant differences can be observed between countries [6,11]. Intentional self-poisoning is one of the most frequently used methods of committing suicide, along with using firearms and committing suicide by hanging [12]. Self-poisoning accounts for 25% of total suicides in the United Kingdom and is the most frequent method of committing suicide among the younger population in the U.S. [13,14]. Rates of suicide by consuming poison are higher in developing countries, especially suicide by consuming a pesticide. In high-income countries, drugs used in attempts to commit suicide include psychotropic drugs, analgesics, antihistamines, antidepressants, psychoactive drugs, and sedative-hypnotics [15]. Beyond current theories regarding the link between suicide and alcohol use, effective prevention requires knowing who is most at risk.
Toxicological examinations found that pesticides were involved in 84.2% of the cases, followed by opiates (6.8%), methamphetamines (2.74%), ethanol (1.3%), strychnine (1.3%), and minor drugs. The highest numbers of suicide by consuming poison were observed in the age group of 21–30yearsand in the unemployed category. Military personnel have higher rates of both suicide and alcohol use.
Medical
Flow diagram illustrating the search strategy and included and excluded studies in this systematic review. Data sharing is not applicable; no new data were created or analyzed in this study. People with problematic alcohol use are also a vulnerable population and we owe them a special duty of care; that should also inform public policies. If it means saving a loved one, warning labels on beer cans seem like a pretty low price to pay. You can find lasting healing and recovery with resources far more relieving than alcohol or drugs.
However, more than 150,000 people still die from intentional ingestion of pesticides, accounting for about 20% of the global burden of suicide. The decrease in deaths is believed to be due to tighter regulation and increased mechanization of agriculture, resulting in reduced numbers of alcohol and acutane agricultural workers. In many low-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region, suicide is the leading cause of death in early to middle adult life and pesticides account for around half to two-thirds of the suicides. These data correspond to those discussed in this systematic review and highlight that pesticide poisoning is still a global and relevant public health concern [12,14].