Deliberate self-poisoning in adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Adolescent suicide has become increasingly more prevalent in recent years, with self-poisoning being a frequent means of suicide attempt.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the factors associated with adolescent self-poisoning.


METHODS
Data on adolescents referred for intentional self-poisoning to the Adolescent Medical Unit during the years 1990-1998 were evaluated retrospectively. Data were obtained from the hospital medical records and included the following factors: sociodemographic data, educational status, agent and route of intake, motivation for overdose, and the extent of serious suicidal intent.


RESULTS
We evaluated 324 cases of adolescent self-poisoners aged 12-18 years (mean +/- SD 14.8 +/- 1.5 years). The female/male ratio was 8:1. Most of the patients were attending school and lived in urban areas. Oral ingestion was the only route of intake; 84.5% of the patients ingested drugs and 10.5% non-medicinal compounds. The drug most commonly taken was acetaminophen. The non-medicinal compounds were mostly pesticides and household materials. The suicide attempts were most frequently associated with transient depression, stemming from defects in child-family communication. As based on clinical psychiatric evaluation, patients who had ingested polydrugs and non-medical compounds evidenced a significantly greater suicidal intent (chi 2 = 11.9, P < 0.001) compared to those who took only one or two kinds of drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that self-poisoning attempts occur most frequently in depressed females at junior high and high school, usually in the context of family dysfunction. Non-medicinal agents and polydrug ingestion are major risk factors for evaluating the seriousness of the suicidal intent.
Lifshitz
Matityahu
M
Toxicology Unit, Division of Pediatrics, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. matyl@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Gavrilov
Vladimir
V
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*