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

Abstract

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.

Characteristics of suicide attempts in Northwestern Iran: a five-year population-based survey

“…In addition, a national study in Iran confirmed our findings that drug poisoning was the most common attempt suicide, while hanging was the most common suicide method [ 14 ]. Poisoning was also identified as the most common suicide method by studies in other countries, such as Poland and India [ 43 , 44 ]. One of the most important reasons for the high prevalence of medication-related suicide attempts is the easy access of people to high-usage drugs such as acetaminophen, painkillers, antibiotics, and even benzodiazepines, and the lack of strictness of pharmacies in selling drugs without a doctor’s prescription in Iran.…”