Stratified by county-level percentage of unemployment, drug poisoning and alcohol-induced death rates were highest in counties in the highest quintile of unemployment and lowest in the lowest quintile. However, suicide rates were highest in counties in the lowest quintile of unemployment and lowest in the second highest quintile of unemployment (Figure 2A). Another study [36], conducted retrospectively on 588 https://rehabliving.net/what-is-commission-pay-and-how-does-it-work/ 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.
COVID-19 pandemic and alcohol consumption: Impacts and interconnections
Out of 743 toxicological autopsies, 28 (3.7%) indicated poison-related suicides and13% indicated suicides not poison-related. Toxicological analyses on blood, urine, and vitreous humor revealed that 70% of the cases had involved drugs of abuse (morphine and psychostimulants) and ethanol. A retrospective study conducted in Iran [26] examined 1667 autopsies and found that suicide by poisoning accounted for 45.8% of the sample. 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.
Experience with acute organophosphate poisonings in Crete
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. Poisoning is a relevant public health issue responsible for a considerable number of cases of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, unintentional poisoning led to around 350,000 deaths [2]. Meanwhile, around 250,000 deaths resulted from intentional ingestion [3]. One report found that in 2012,about 1,930,000 people died worldwide from unintentional poisoning, of which 84% died in low- and middle-income countries [4]. A2019 WHO report indicates a worldwide decrease in the global age-standardized suicide rate [5,6].
A comparison of enzymatic and GC method for blood ethanol analysis
In doing so, the person communicates to others and adapts to his/her environment. The results of research do not support the hypothesis that, when a youth gets drunk, this in itself leads to that youth deciding to commit suicide. The association between alcohol use and suicide has also been documented using aggregate studies of alcohol consumption in various countries [50,51]. Results from time-series analyses on aggregate level data from several European countries indicates a stronger effect of alcohol consumption on suicide in low consumption countries than in high consumption countries [54–58]. The estimated global burden of suicide is a million deaths every year [1], and a policy statement produced by WHO in response to this [2] has urged countries to implement suicide prevention policies.
Future research should shed light on the correlation between social, medical, and demographic characteristics and the autopsy findings in suicides by self-poisoning to highlight the risk factors and implement tailored prevention programs worldwide. Performing a complete autopsy on a suspected suicide by self-poisoning could be essential in supporting worldwide public health measures and policy makers. Therefore, complete autopsies in such cases must be vigorously promoted. Neurobiological, including serotonergic mechanisms may play a role in the higher suicidality of depressed individuals with comorbid alcohol dependence compared to depressed subjects without comorbid alcohol dependence [152–155]. Another study found an anterior medial prefrontal cortical area where subjects with comorbid major depression and alcohol dependence had more severe hypofrontality than patients with major depression only [157]. This area encompassed the left medial frontal and left and right anterior cingulate gyri.
- In fact, what was rendering men vulnerable to the effect of alcohol on suicide (independence and loss of interpersonal support) was opposite to what women endorsed (interrelatedness and help seeking).
- Although we are far from understanding the relationships between alcohol use and suicidal behavior, a number of possible direct mechanisms for the association have been proposed.
- Articles of any language were eligible for inclusion in this review; however, the searches were only conducted in English language databases.
- The GPHP base their analysis on the KSIP-10 report on suicide attempt/behavior.
If it means saving a loved one, warning labels on beer cans seem like a pretty low price to pay. Conceptualization—A.S.; validation—A.S.; formal analysis—A.S.; resources—A.S., writing—original draft preparation—A.S., A.K. 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. This cross-sectional study found that demographic and geographic patterns varied by cause of death, suggesting that these causes of death were not concentrated in 1 group or region and tailored interventions to each cause are urgently needed. Know the danger signals, and if you suspect that someone has an alcohol overdose, call 911 for help immediately.
The results of our research highlight just how needed these measures are in our society, but prevention requires change at both the individual and systemic level. Another theory of suicide suggests the severity of depressive symptoms, such as a hopeless sense of not belonging, is directly proportional to the likelihood of a lethal suicide attempt. There are several neurobiological and psychological theories proposed to explain the relationship between alcohol use and suicide.
We tried to contact the corresponding authors to send us the full texts, but the authors did not respond. A suicidal ideation is “thinking about, considering, or planning for suicide” [16]. A suicide attempt is “a non-fatal self-directed potentially injurious behavior with any intent to die as a result of the behavior” [16]. A completed suicide is “a death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with any intent to die as a result of the behavior” [16].
Suicide is the act of deliberate taking one’s own life, whereas a suicide attempt is any non-fatal suicide behavior that might have been displayed with or without an intent to take one’s own life [5]. With regard to suicides using toxic substances, the age of the victims was between 20 and 29 years in most cases of our study, which is comparable to previous reports. The young age of the victims correlates with their vulnerability and impulsiveness and their easy https://rehabliving.net/ access to toxic drugs [52,53]. To shed light on the cause and manner of the death, toxicological analysis is crucial in the forensic context, combined with a historical anamnesis, scene evidence, psychological autopsy, and autopsy. 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].
Their approach was followed in subsequent revisions of suicide terminology. Despite the above limitations, the current meta-analysis could efficiently estimate the association between AUD and suicide. Furthermore, a wide search strategy was developed in order to increase the sensitivity of the search to include as many studies as possible. Our study included all types of observational studies irrespective of age, country, race, publication date, and language. We screened 8548 retrieved references and included 31 eligible studies in the meta-analysis involving 420,732 participants. Thus, the evidence was sufficient to make a robust conclusion regarding the objective of the study for estimating the association between AUD and suicide.
JBS developed the scoping review protocol, did title and abstract screening, did initial full-text screening, reviewed data extraction, and contributed to the draft manuscript and several iterations of the manuscript. All the other authors reviewed the protocol, the extracted data and the draft manuscript. All analysis, interpretations, and conclusions based on these data are solely the responsibility of the authors.
Results of multinomial logistic regression analyses are presented in Table 3 as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results for acute alcohol measured as a categorical variable (present or absent) showed that the presence of alcohol did not differ at a statistically significant level among the 3 methods of suicide. There were statistically significant interactions between positive BAC and age, Blacks, and Asian/Pacific Islanders. Depression is frequently a precursor of alcohol abuse, but alcoholism may also trigger or exacerbate depression. Suicidal behavior usually occurs early in the course of mood disorders, but only in the final phase of alcohol abuse when social marginalization and poverty, the somatic complications of alcoholism and the breakdown of important social bonds have taken over.
The collected matrices, blood, and urine were analyzed by GC, LC–MS and revealed the presence of benzodiazepines, alcohol, opioids, and psychoactive drugs. For each study, three authors (C.L.S., A.R. and V.P.) extracted the following data using a pre-designed data extraction Excel sheet. Konradsen et al. [67] explored alcohol use related to pesticide self-poisoning in Sri Lanka and found that in 40% of 159 cases, ‘alcohol misuse’ or ‘addiction’ reportedly played a role in self-harm.
Copello et al. [220], after reviewing the literature, concluded that people with drug and alcohol use disorders often behave in ways destructive to family life and relatives. Simon et al. [113] found that individuals who made impulsive suicide attempts reported higher rates of aggressive behavior than those who made non-impulsive suicide attempts. They hypothesized that poor behavioral control, largely dependent on factors such as alcohol abuse, was an important indicator of risk for impulsive suicide attempts. Alcohol intake may result in a lack of behavioral inhibition and other aspects of impulsiveness, such as poor thinking and planning, as well as impaired attention.
Alcohol affects neurotransmitters, which are the chemical messengers such as GABA and serotonin that help regulate mood. A particularly troubling finding was that nearly a quarter of all those who committed suicide under the age of 21 tested positive for alcohol at the time of death. Suicidal poisoning refers to intoxication with carbon monoxide contained in the light gas. Suicide cannot be ruled out when a dead body is found in a garage and the CO is released in car exhaust fumes [22].
Intervention should help people find a motivation to stop drinking, identify the circumstances that motivate them to drink, identify the factors that engender this conduct, and evaluate the possible risk of suicide. Psychotherapy can help individuals learn new methods of coping with stressors and develop social relationship in the community. Particularly for adolescents, family therapy may play a crucial role both in the resolution of the problems and in the recovery of the patient. The high rate of suicide among adolescents and young adults is a challenge for prevention. The CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control [259] published guidelines for the development of intervention strategies for communities interested in adolescent and youth suicide prevention programs.