The role of restricting access to potentially lethal medication in suicide prevention

2021 ◽  
pp. 709-712
Author(s):  
Cyril Höschl ◽  
Pavla Čermáková
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
Lethal Means

Overdose with medications is a common method of suicide. Reviews of suicide prevention strategies confirmed that restricting access to lethal means is effective in preventing suicides. Nevertheless, there have not been any randomized controlled trials, proving that restriction of the access to toxic medications decreases suicide rates. Existing evidence is based mainly on observational, ecological, and cohort studies. Factors such as better mental health conditions, effective treatment of depression, and improvement in socioeconomic status, may also contribute to decreasing suicide rates. Restrictive measures will have a large effect if the respective method is frequent and lethal. Although there are some concerns about substitution of suicide methods if access to a specific drug is restricted, many studies suggest a life-saving potential. Restrictive measures represent an effective and feasible public health strategy for suicide prevention, particularly in individuals that carry out briefly planned impulsive acts, and in combination with other interventions.

Gender Differences in the Lethality of Suicide Methods and Their Relation to Suicide Rates

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Cibis ◽  
A. Bramesfeld ◽  
R. Mergl ◽  
D. Althaus ◽  
G. Niklewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Male Suicide ◽  
Male Female Ratio ◽  
Prevention Interventions ◽  
Gender Specific

Aims:For developing suicide prevention interventions, epidemiologic, socio-economic and demographic factors influencing suicide rates are of high interest. One considerable factor in this respect is gender, as in most countries male suicide rates are much higher than female suicide rates with a global average male/female ratio of 3.6:1. The present study seeks to contribute to the clarification of the question what underlies the different suicide rates of men and women by analyzing gender-specific lethality of suicide methods.Method:Data on completed (fatal) and attempted (non-fatal) suicides from 2000 to 2004 were collected in two cities in the region of Bavaria, Germany. This data sample offers the opportunity to compare data of suicidal acts including completed as well as attempted suicides of the same region during the same time. The lethality for each suicide method was estimated by dividing the number of fatal episodes by the total episodes and then related to gender and age.Results:Lethality per method was higher for men than for women; significant differences could be shown for the majority of methods. Regarding age, lethality rising with age could be shown. Still, in higher age groups, differences in lethality between men and women were significant.Conclusion:Results stress the importance of gender-specific suicide prevention. Male-specific suicide-prevention should be concerned with improving access to and treatment of men under risk for suicidal behaviour. Addressing the problem through multifaceted programs therefore is a promising approach.

scholarly journals MASS THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION FOR MONITORING SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR IN COMMUNITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Fadhillah Sofyan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Therapeutic Education ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Suicidal Ideas ◽  
The Impact

Background: Suicide is a worrying problem in Indonesia because of increase in case reported. There has been an increase in suicide rates both globally and in Indonesia. The negative stigma, lack of education, and lack of understanding of the role of the community make it difficult to reduce the number of suicides. This study aims to discuss mass therapeutic education for monitoring suicidal behavior in community. Method: Researchers used 15 journals and literature that discuss the impact and vulnerability of distance learning on students' mental health conditions. Conclusion: The role of society in reducing the suicide rate is very much needed. The community can help make early detection of suicide. Society can help prevent suicidal ideas from arising in those around them. The public can provide information to the authorities and give advice for suicide perpetrators to visit a health center. The role of the community can be integrated in a structured and neat system that can make suicide prevention efforts become optimal.

Guns and Suicide

Pained ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 159-162
Author(s):  
Michael D. Stein ◽  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Simple Observation ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Time Period ◽  
National Conversation ◽  
Lethal Means ◽  
Commit Suicide

This chapter examines whether limiting the means to commit suicide can prevent suicide. South Korea has long had suicide rates higher than other high-income countries. In the 2006–2010 time period, suicide by pesticides accounted for more than a fifth of all suicides in the country. Then South Korea banned the sale of paraquat—the leading pesticide—in 2012. This was followed by an immediate decline in suicide rates across all groups. The success of such an effort rests on a simple observation: close to half of all suicides are acts of impulse, decided with an hour, if not a few minutes, before the suicide itself. This means that having access to lethal means matters enormously. And lethality varies between means. The likelihood of a successful suicide by drug overdose is less than 10%; the likelihood of successful suicide by gun is more than 90%. That means, with guns around, the suicidal impulse is much more likely to end in the act’s completion. It is not surprising then, given how many guns there are in the country, that firearms account for about half of all suicides in the United States. As such, as people discuss suicide, measures to limit the role of guns should be part of the national conversation.

scholarly journals Place, the Built Environment, and Means Restriction in Suicide Prevention

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (22) ◽  
pp. 4389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel J. Pollock
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Lethal Means ◽  
Resolution Data

Restricting access to lethal means is a key public health intervention for preventing suicide. Means restriction research has often focused on suicide methods that are modifiable through legislation or policy interventions. However, some of the most common methods such as hanging may not be sensitive to regulation. The aims of this paper are to examine built environment and place-based approaches to means restriction in suicide prevention, and further consider the connections between place, the environment, and suicide methods. To increase knowledge about specific methods and mechanisms of injury in suicide deaths, higher resolution data for surveillance and epidemiology is required. Data that can be used to better discern patterns about specific locations and materials used in suicide and self-harm will support efforts to uncover new directions for prevention.

scholarly journals Association between psychotropic drug prescription and suicide rates in Scotland: population study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Fhionna R. Moore ◽  
Mairi Macleod ◽  
Trevor A. Harley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Psychotropic Drug ◽  
Population Study ◽  
Drug Prescription ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Causal Mechanisms

Aims and method Rates of prescriptions of antidepressants and suicide are inversely correlated at an epidemiological level. Less attention has been paid to relationships between other drugs used in mental health and suicide rates. Here we tested relationships between prescriptions of anxiolytics and antipsychotics and suicide rates in Scotland. Results Suicide rates were inversely correlated with prescriptions of antidepressants and antipsychotics over 14 years (2004–2018), and positively with prescriptions of anxiolytics. Clinical implications This illustrates the role of medications used in mental health in suicide prevention, and highlights the importance of identifying causal mechanisms that link anxiolytics with suicide.

scholarly journals Suicide in Parkinson’s disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 822-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Deanna Shepard ◽  
Kate Perepezko ◽  
Martijn P G Broen ◽  
Jared Thomas Hinkle ◽  
Ankur Butala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Aggressive Treatment ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Lethal Means ◽  
Risk Factors For Suicide

Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) have many known risk factors for suicide and suicidal ideation (SI). Despite this, there is limited understanding of suicidality in this population. We conducted a systematic review to synthesise the available literature on suicidality in PwP and highlight areas for potential intervention and further research. We identified 116 articles discussing SI, suicidal behaviours, suicide attempts and/or fatal suicide in PwP. These articles describe prevalence, suicide methods, risk factors for suicide and SI and treatment of suicidality. In this review, we summarise the current literature and provide suggestions for how clinicians can identify and treat PwP who are at risk for suicide, for example, through aggressive treatment of depression and improved screening for access to lethal means.

scholarly journals Suicide rates in Fortaleza increased 157% in ten years

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Inis Stella Lacerda Borges de Sá ◽  
Erick Fraga Rebouças ◽  
Layana Vieira Nobre ◽  
Vitor Hugo Duarte Silva ◽  
Lucas Farias de Oliveira Pessoa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Forensic Medicine ◽  
Suicide Method ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
Female Suicide Rate ◽  
Suicide Prevention Programs ◽  
Male To Female

Objective: to analyze suicide rates between 2000-2009 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Methodology: Data was obtained from Ceará’s Institute of Forensic Medicine (PEFOCE). Estimated population by year was obtained from the Unified Health System (DATASUS). Results: A total of 1903 suicide cases were registered in Fortaleza, between 2000 and 2009. The distribution of methods was analyzed using the variables gender, age and year. Around 80% of the cases were male, corresponding to 4.3 male to female suicide rate. The most common suicide method was hanging, followed by poisoning, firearms, and jumping from heights. Among males, hanging was the most prevalent suicide method, followed by poisoning; while in females poisoning was the most prevalent method, followed by hanging. Almost half of all suicides in the study were by hanging. Conclusions: The classification of death as suicide is subject to interpretation of the coroner. Local published literature about this problem is sparse. Understanding suicide methods may provide support to more effective suicide prevention programs.

Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation in Sri Lanka

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudath Samaraweera ◽  
Athula Sumathipala ◽  
Sisira Siribaddana ◽  
S. Sivayogan ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
General Population ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
National Average ◽  
The West ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Completed Suicide ◽  
The World

Background: Suicidal ideation can often lead to suicide attempts and completed suicide. Studies have shown that Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world but so far no studies have looked at prevalence of suicidal ideation in a general population in Sri Lanka. Aims: We wanted to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation by randomly selecting six Divisional Secretariats (Dss) out of 17 in one district. This district is known to have higher than national average rates of suicide. Methods: 808 participants were interviewed using Sinhala versions of GHQ-30 and Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Of these, 387 (48%) were males, and 421 (52%) were female. Results: On Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation, 29 individuals (4%) had active suicidal ideation and 23 (3%) had passive suicidal ideation. The active suicidal ideators were young, physically ill and had higher levels of helplessness and hopelessness. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in Sri Lanka is lower than reported from the West and yet suicide rates are higher. Further work must explore cultural and religious factors.

Child and Adolescent Suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina Before and After the War (1992–1995)

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almir Fajkic ◽  
Orhan Lepara ◽  
Martin Voracek ◽  
Nestor D. Kapusta ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Southeastern Europe ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Sex And Age Differences

Background: Evidence on youth suicides from Southeastern Europe is scarce. We are not aware of previous reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which experienced war from 1992 to 1995. Durkheim’s theory of suicide predicts decreased suicide rates in wartime and increased rates afterward. Aims: To compare child and adolescent suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina before and after the war. Methods: Data on youth suicide for prewar (1986–90) and postwar (2002–06) periods were analyzed with respect to prevalence, sex and age differences, and suicide methods. Suicide data from 1991 through 2001 were not available. Results: Overall youth suicide rates were one-third lower in the postwar than in the prewar period. This effect was most pronounced for girls, whose postwar suicide rates almost halved, and for 15–19-year-old boys, whose rates decreased by about a one-fourth. Suicides increased among boys aged 14 or younger. Firearm suicides almost doubled proportionally and were the predominant postwar method, while the most common prewar method had been hanging. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate the need for public education in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the role of firearm accessibility in youth suicide and for instructions on safe storage in households. Moreover, raising societal awareness about suicide risk factors and suicide prevention is needed.

Suicide-Related Crimes in Contemporary European Criminal Laws

Crisis ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilkka Henrik Mäkinen
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Public Opinions ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Narrow Scope ◽  
National Affair ◽  
Attitudes Towards Suicide ◽  
Special Circumstances

This article describes suicide-related penal legislation in contemporary Europe, and analyzes and relates the results to cultural attitudes towards suicide and to national suicide rates. Data were obtained from 42 legal entities. Of these, 34 have penal regulations which - according to definition - chiefly and directly deal with suicide. There are three main types of act: aiding suicide, abetting suicide, and driving to suicide. The laws vary considerably with regard to which acts are sanctioned, how severely they are punished, and whether any special circumstances such as the motive, the result, or the object can make the crime more serious. Various ideologies have inspired legislation: religions, the euthanasia movement, and suicide prevention have all left their mark. There are some cases in which neighboring legal systems have clearly influenced laws on the topic. However, the process seems mostly to have been a national affair, resulting in surprisingly large discrepancies between European legal systems. The laws seem to reflect public opinions: countries which punish the crimes harder have significantly less permissive cultural attitudes towards suicide. Likewise, suicide rates were significantly higher in countries with a narrow scope of criminalization and milder punishments for suicide-related crimes. The cultural and normative elements of society are connected with its suicide mortality.

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