Ethanol as a stimulus to risky and auto-aggressive behaviour

Al-Wathinani

Krajewski

et al. 2020

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than half of all road fatalities involve vulnerable road users, i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Poland is classified as one of the European Union (EU) countries marked by low road safety, with a higher frequency of accidents involving pedestrians compared to other EU countries (31% of all fatalities). Among unprotected road users, a significant group of victims are pedestrians, who are often under the influence of alcohol. This study aims to analyze the impact of alcohol on the risk of occurrence and consequences of road accidents among pedestrians. The source of data was the medical documentation of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Medical University of Warsaw. In more than half of pedestrian deaths, the presence of alcohol was found; regardless of the place of the event and the place of death, among the victims under the influence of alcohol, males dominated; the average age of the victims under the influence of alcohol was significantly lower compared to the average age of sober victims, with younger victims being significantly more likely to die at the scene of the accident, especially in rural areas; significantly higher alcohol concentrations were found in males, in victims who died at the scene of the accident, and with victims of accidents in rural areas. Among pedestrian traffic accident fatalities, the most numerous group comprised young men under the influence of alcohol. In rural areas, a higher percentage of pedestrian victims died at the scene as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. These areas should be subject to intensive preventive measures to increase the safety of pedestrians as unprotected road users.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Alcohol and Road Accidents Involving Pedestrians as Unprotected Road Users

Al-Wathinani

Krajewski

et al. 2020

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“…In Poland, the most common method of suicide is hanging, mainly among men, while women most often try to take large amounts of drugs [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Additionally, in the presented analysis, hanging was the leading method of suicide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, in the presented analysis, hanging was the leading method of suicide. In general, in the case of suicide deaths, more radical methods which guarantee certain death, such as the aforementioned hanging, jumping from a height, throwing oneself under a moving vehicle (most often a train), drowning or shooting oneself, prevailed [ 19 , 20 , 22 ]. Hanging, jumping from a height, self-harm, impairment of the cardiovascular system or taking sleeping pills (and other medications) are the most common methods of suicide attempts ( Figure 2 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Suicide Methods and Substances Influencing the State of Consciousness of Their Victims in Poland

Mirowska‐Guzel

Goniewicz³

2021

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An integral part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) mental health action plan for 2013–2020 is suicide prevention, and a 10% reduction in the suicide rate. A key element of the preventive measures taken is, among other things, limiting access to means enabling and facilitating committing suicide. However, this requires detailed knowledge of community suicide patterns and preferences. Unfortunately, such information is not usually collected, and the recorded method of committing suicide is often imprecise and untrue, which means that such knowledge has limited application in presuicidal prophylaxis. The statistical data on suicides recorded as part of the Police Statistics in Poland during the years 2009–2019 was analyzed. The analysis included suicide deaths and suicide attempts, taking into account the suicide methods and substances influencing the state of consciousness of their victims. The number of suicides in Poland in the analyzed period tended to increase. The most common method of suicide was hanging, and alcohol was the substance influencing the state of consciousness of suicide victims. The statistics for 2017–2019 showed the presence of new methods of suicide, such as taking drugs other than hypnotics, intoxication with narcotic drugs, poisoning with designer drugs, suffocation and self-immolation, as well as new psychoactive substances affecting the state of consciousness of victims, i.e., drugs and narcotic drugs. The effectiveness of actions taken in Poland in the field of suicide prevention does not bring the desired effects, as evidenced by growing number of suicides. This low effectiveness is mainly due to the lack of a national suicide prevention strategy. The effectiveness of these activities may be improved by creating a uniform database of suicides, which is a source of reliable information which will allow the taking of actions aimed at limiting the availability of means enabling and facilitating the committing of suicide. The study aimed to analyze the types of suicide methods and substances influencing the state of consciousness of their victims in Poland in the years covered by the study.

“…The most common method of suicide in Poland is hanging, especially among men. Women tend to overdose on medications to commit suicide [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Self-poisoning suicide attempts are not uncommon in medical practice; in fact, self-poisoning is one of the most frequently used methods for suicide attempts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide Attempts and Suicides as a Result of Poisoning and under the Influence of Xenobiotics in Poland in 1999–2020

Staniszewska

Kielan

et al. 2022

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Background: The most common method of suicide in Poland is hanging, especially among men. However, women tend to overdose on medications to commit suicide. Considering suicide attempts, poisoning, which involves overdosing various substances, is the most commonly used method. The purpose of the present study was to analyze suicide attempts by intoxication, suicides, and substances that influenced the state of consciousness of suicide victims in Poland in the years covered by the study. Methods: A descriptive analysis was made based on the data obtained from the registers of the General Police Headquarters of Poland and the Statistics Poland for the years 1999–2020. Results: During the 21-year study period, 161,655 cases of suicide attempts were recorded in Poland, 106,169 of which resulted in suicides. Results showed that out of 14,660 self-poisoning suicide attempts, there were 2258 cases of suicide poisoning deaths in the analyzed study period. According to the data of the General Police Headquarters of Poland, the total number of suicides of all causes was 106,169. Self-poisoning suicides accounted for 2.1% of all cases of suicides. Conclusion: Due to the distribution of suicide registration systems in Poland, data available in this area should be interpreted with caution.