More Teens Are Attempting Suicide By Poisoning. Here ’s What Parents Should Know

Suicide rates are on the rise in the U.S. across age groups and demographics. But in recent years, increases have been particularly pronounced among teenagers — especially girls, who die by suicide less frequently than boys but attempt it more often. Intentional self-poisoning is the leading type of suicide attempt for adolescents (and the third-leading cause of suicide deaths), and a new study confirms that numbers here, too, are rising. The research, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that suicide attempts by poisoning have doubled in frequency among kids younger than 19, rising from almost 40,000 attempts in 2000 to almost 80,000 in 2018. Teen girls seemed to drive the increase in self-poisoning attempts, which can include intentional drug overdoses or exposure to other toxic substances. “Not only is the number of cases increasing, but the outcomes are getting worse,” says study co-author Henry Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. Out of more than 1.6 million self-poisoning attempts among people ages 10-24 that were reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers (PCCs) and entered into the National Poison Data System database from 2000 to 2018, more than 340,000 resulted in symptoms that were non-life-threatening but required treatment. More than 45,000 resulted in life-threatening symptoms and about 1,400 resulted in death, the study says. Those estimates were similar to figures from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Mental Health/Psychology Source Type: news