1 in 4 suicides in Australia involve poisoning, suggesting some drugs should be prescribed cautiously

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-07-27 01:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; WA

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***This media release contains information some readers may find distressing as it refers to data about mental health, suicide and self-harm. If you or anyone you know needs help, support is available now. Call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. *** An analysis of coroner records in Australia has shown that one in four suicides in Australia involve poisoning. The study found that while drugs such as antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids are commonly present in suicides more broadly, their use is higher in poisoning-related suicides. Alcohol was almost equally present in both poisoning and non-poisoning suicides. The authors say the findings suggest that substances with a high involvement in poisoning-related suicides should be prescribed cautiously, including antidepressants that are toxic in overdose, sedatives, opioids, and potentially lethal combinations.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Psychiatry

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Sydney, Monash University, The University of New South Wales, Telethon Kids Institute

Funder: This study was funded in part by grant 1157757 from the National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC), the Translational Australian Clinical Toxicology Research Group, grant 1122362 from the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship fund (Dr Chitty), an investigator grant 1196516 from the NHMRC (Dr Chitty), an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (Ms Lim), and an investigator grant 2007726 from the NHMRC (Dr Buckley).

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