The data of the selected studies are coherent with literature data and highlight that the characteristics of suicide by consuming poison show changing trends according to social and demographic factors [52,61]. Autopsy and toxicological analysis in suicide deaths are crucial for assessing the cause and manner of death and shed light on death by self-poisoning. When performing an autopsy in the case of suspected suicides, it is crucial to analyze social factors and medical history to pinpoint a suicide by self-poisoning and provide helpful information for prevention and public health measures. In this regard, the results of the present study lack significant information about sociodemographic factors. In this study, data from several geographic areas, such as Australia, Eastern Europe, Russia, and South America, are missing.
Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
This appears to be related to the easy availability of the means, as these are predominantly agricultural countries. In contrast, in Western or industrialized countries, use of illicit drugs (mainly opioids) and medicines (antidepressants, anxiolytics, and neuroleptics) for suicide appeared to be more frequent. More precisely, greater use of antidepressants than drug abuse has been observed over the years, probably due to their greater availability and the progressive increase in the incidence of psychiatric pathologies and stress-related disorders [45,46]. A retrospective study conducted in Iran [26] examined 1667 autopsies and found that suicide by poisoning accounted for 45.8% of the sample.
This could be an important indication for further research in the future. However, the WHO highlights that some risk factors, such as harmful use of alcohol and substance use disorders, contribute to suicide ideation in all age groups [14,53]. According to one of the selected studies, the National Institute of Statistics in Spain argues that the number of suicides is higher in men than in women [55].
Who May Be at Risk?
Hot spots for of all 3 causes were present in New Mexico and Colorado. Research on methods of committing suicide and the risk factors involved in suicide by consuming poison is still inadequate. Moreover, literature studies are often not homogeneous, leading to inconsistent and non-representative socio-demographic and public health analyses of such phenomena. Our findings indicate that these 3 causes of death merit individual consideration, and their underlying causes and optimal prevention strategies may differ in nature, intensity, and duration across populations and contexts. For drug poisoning deaths, there were significant clusters of counties with lower death rates that extended from North Dakota and Minnesota south through Texas and then mary jane meaning drug east from Texas to Georgia and South Carolina.
Medical
However, suicide rates were highest in counties in the lowest quintile of unemployment and lowest in the second highest quintile of unemployment (Figure 2A). The prevention of suicide by self-poisoning is a relevant public health concern. Public health and worldwide authorities are responsible for addressing the increase in suicide rates, which is affecting all populations and our society [47].
- Performing a complete autopsy on a suspected suicide by self-poisoning could be essential for supporting worldwide public health measures and policy makers; therefore, complete autopsies must be vigorously promoted.
- This is why many individuals often turn to risky behaviours, including using drugs and alcohol.
- 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.
- Time is a factor that significantly influences the effectiveness of toxicological testing [22].
- This cross-sectional study found that drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced death rates each increased dramatically among individuals aged 20 to 64 years in the US during 2000 to 2017.
- Life expectancy has decreased in the US, driven largely by increases in drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced deaths.
Suicide Attempts and Suicides as a Result of Poisoning and under the Influence of Xenobiotics in Poland in 1999–2020
Suicide cannot be ruled out when a dead body is found in a garage and the CO is released in car exhaust fumes [22]. It is not only because of the necessity to determine the suicide while excluding the possibility of a murder or an accident, but also in specific cases it is necessary to consider the possibility of death from poisoning, and not from natural causes. In most situations, the poisons used for suicide do not cause any characteristic pathological changes or specific clinical symptoms. Even if it has already been established that the cause of death was the use of a toxic substance, determination of a suicide poses serious difficulties, because in the case of criminal poisoning, the perpetrator tries to make it look like a suicide or accidental poisoning. It is important to determine what chemical agent the suicide was caused by.
Clusters of high-rate counties were identified with hot spot analysis. Excess deaths during 2001 to 2017 were estimated for each cause as the difference between the number of deaths observed and expected if rates had remained stable starting in 2000. To compare patterns and trends in drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced death rates by geography and demographic characteristics. Research on suicide methods is still inadequate, especially in some geographic areas. Further and continuous research is needed in this field to investigate and update the critical risk and protective factors involved in suicide and to implement prevention programs. Considering the limited resources and the large population in many low-income countries, it could be helpful to adopt public health measures by referring to social, religious, and economic factors to prevent suicide in various countries [52,53].
Table 2
Lower suicide rates clustered along the East coast, and lower alcohol-induced death rates clustered from Missouri east through Pennsylvania and from Louisiana east through Georgia. Cold spots for all three causes were present in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The retrospective study by Goswami et al. [20] examined autopsies of suspected deaths by poisoning.
In line with what has been observed, what is lacking in the study of most of the reviews carried out on suicide cases is an in-depth evaluation of clinical and medical history of the subjects. Significant differences in the substances used for suicide by self-poisoning were observed in the examined studies (Figure 2). In the study by Jones et al. [27] covering 1993–2010, 13,963 poisoning-related autopsies were examined, of which 4843 were suicides (34.68%). Toxicological analyses revealed that ethanol was involved in 55% of the cases, paracetamol in 21% of the cases, diazepam in 19% of the cases, morphine in a similar percentage of cases, and minor antidepressants in a few cases. Suicidal poisoning refers to intoxication with carbon monoxide contained in the light gas.
Ingesting alcohol and other drugs together intensifies does alcohol bother gallbladder their individual effects and could produce an overdose with even moderate amounts of alcohol. What tips the balance from drinking that produces impairment to drinking that puts one’s life in jeopardy varies among individuals. Age, sensitivity to alcohol (tolerance), gender, speed of drinking, medications you are taking, and amount of food eaten can all be factors. And V.P.; writing—original draft preparation, G.D.A. and G.M.; writing—review and editing, A.A., S.Z.
Our study indicates these combine to produce a 282 per cent increased risk of death by suicide. A large group of suicide attempters in Poland in 1999–2020 were under the influence of alcohol, but since 2017 there has been a steady decline in the number of suicide deaths under the influence of alcohol. Being the cause of self-poisoning, alcohol was frequently responsible for intentional (suicidal) and unintentional deaths. It is especially difficult to distinguish suicide from accidental poisoning.
Mixing alcohol with drugs intensifies its effects, which may have tragic consequences, especially for lsd overdose symptoms people already burdened with mental problems. This is when a male rapidly consumes five or more alcoholic drinks within two hours or a female consumes at least four drinks within two hours. It’s not necessary to have all the above symptoms before seeking medical help. A person with alcohol poisoning who has passed out or can’t wake up could die.
We used US death certificate data for premature death (ie, ages years) from drug poisonings, suicide, and alcohol-induced causes and conducted hot spot and trend analyses for each cause. This cross-sectional study found alarming recent increases in drug poisoning, suicide, and alcohol-induced death rates that differed substantially by demographic and geographic factors in the US. Increases in alcohol-induced death rates began more recently (in 2005) than drug poisoning deaths and suicides and accelerated during 2012 to 2017.
As blood alcohol concentration (BAC) increases, so does the effect of alcohol—as well as the risk of harm. Even small increases in BAC can decrease motor coordination, make a person feel sick, and cloud judgment. This can increase an individual’s risk of being injured from falls or car crashes, experiencing acts of violence, and engaging in unprotected or unintended sex. When BAC reaches high levels, blackouts (gaps in memory), loss of consciousness (passing out), and death can occur. An alcohol overdose occurs when there is so much alcohol in the bloodstream that areas of the brain controlling basic life-support functions—such as breathing, heart rate, and temperature control—begin to shut down.
First and foremost, these are benzodiazepine sedatives and hypnotics, antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine, valproic acid), antidepressants (tricyclic, serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and neuroleptics (classic and atypical). Drug poisoning concerns mostly psychiatric patients and people addicted to drugs and alcohol (they resort to psychotropic drugs when withdrawal symptoms are intensified, or symptoms of acute alcohol intoxication appear) [12]. Other psychoactive substances that are used for suicidal purposes are many over the counter (OTC) drugs, which contain substances that can affect consciousness, behavior, and feeling when consumed in large amounts. The most popular substances of this type are dextromethorphan (a synthetic analog of codeine), ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine [13]. The autopsy rate in deaths by suicide and poisoning is still low [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28]. The data emerging from the studies included in the review only partially reflect the toxicological characteristics of the country where the study was conducted.