TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-harm and self-poisoning in southern India
T2 - choice of poisoning agents and treatment
AU - Bose, Anuradha
AU - Sandal Sejbaek, Camilla
AU - Suganthy, Pearline
AU - Raghava, Venkata
AU - Alex, Reginald
AU - Muliyil, Jayaprakash
AU - Konradsen, Flemming
N1 - Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Humans; India; Male; Middle Aged; Pesticides; Prescription Drugs; Questionnaires; Rural Health; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted; Time Factors; Young Adult
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To record cases of suicide and attempted suicide among a population of 108 000 people living in a primarily rural area of southern India, with the aim of guiding policies and strategies to restrict access to poisonous compounds at community level. METHOD: Community-based surveillance over a period of 2 years. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The overall suicide rate was 71.4 per 100 000 population; the highest burden was among men. Most people died through hanging (81, 54%) and self-poisoning (46, 31%). Of the 46 who died from self-poisoning, 78.3% had taken pesticides and 19.7% had eaten poisonous plants. Eighty per cent of the self-poisoning cases obtained the poisonous substance in or in close proximity to the home, highlighting the importance of safe storage in the domestic environment. Of the 110 fatal and non-fatal self-poisoning cases, 87 (57.5%) were taken for treatment; 50 (57.4%) went to government hospitals and 37 (42.5%) to private facilities. This indicates the importance of including the private sector in the efforts to improve case management. Furthermore, the fact that 31 (67%) of the self-poisoning patients, who eventually died, were alive after 4 h provides an incentive to focus on improved case management and access to health services.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To record cases of suicide and attempted suicide among a population of 108 000 people living in a primarily rural area of southern India, with the aim of guiding policies and strategies to restrict access to poisonous compounds at community level. METHOD: Community-based surveillance over a period of 2 years. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The overall suicide rate was 71.4 per 100 000 population; the highest burden was among men. Most people died through hanging (81, 54%) and self-poisoning (46, 31%). Of the 46 who died from self-poisoning, 78.3% had taken pesticides and 19.7% had eaten poisonous plants. Eighty per cent of the self-poisoning cases obtained the poisonous substance in or in close proximity to the home, highlighting the importance of safe storage in the domestic environment. Of the 110 fatal and non-fatal self-poisoning cases, 87 (57.5%) were taken for treatment; 50 (57.4%) went to government hospitals and 37 (42.5%) to private facilities. This indicates the importance of including the private sector in the efforts to improve case management. Furthermore, the fact that 31 (67%) of the self-poisoning patients, who eventually died, were alive after 4 h provides an incentive to focus on improved case management and access to health services.
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2009.02293.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2009.02293.x
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 19497080
SN - 1360-2276
VL - 14
SP - 761
EP - 765
JO - Tropical Medicine & International Health
JF - Tropical Medicine & International Health
IS - 7
ER -
