199 Suicide attempts involving

medication: Relationship with socio-

economic status and psychological
Abstract
disorders
N. KERAGHEL¹ ², A. KORI YAHIA ¹ ², Y. ZEBBICHE¹ ²
According to the WHO, every year almost 703,000 people commit suicide, and
¹ Faculty of Pharmacy of Algiers, University of Algiers 1
many more attempt to do so. Suicide occurs at any time in life and was the fourth ² EHS Ali Ait Idir Algiers, Central Laboratory of Biology and Toxicology pharm.keraghel@gmail.com
leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds worldwide in 2019. (01)
According to the National Poison Control Center, 85% of poisoning cases reported
were of drug origin, of which 1.35% were suicide attempts.(02)
Suicide attempts involving drugs are a major public health problem in our society, which is why it is important to make the link between this phenomenon and psychological disorders
in order to elucidate the risk factors and provide better care for these patients.
This work focuses on exploring the relationship between drug-induced suicide attempts and predictive risk factors by reporting examples of cases received by the Toxicology Unit of the
ALI AIT IDIR Hospital as part of the analytical management of these patients.
Since June 2023, there have been 186 requests for toxicological analysis, 17.74% of which were drug-induced suicide attempts, 63% involving paracetamol and 33% carbamazepine.
The sex ratio was 0.43 M/F, with an average age of 28 years. Patients with these disorders were more likely to attempt suicide by medication.
This study highlights the importance of taking into predictive factors in assessing the risk of suicide attempts by medication.

INTRODUCTION DISCUSSION
o Every year almost 703,000 people commit suicide, and many more attempt to do so. Traumatic incidents, psychological stressors such as relationship breakdown,

o Suicide occurs at any time in life and was the fourth leading cause of death among 15– socioeconomic variables, underlying psychiatric diseases including psychoactive

29-year-olds worldwide in 2019.(01) substance use, loss of social support, and previous suicidal attempts are all risk factors
for suicide. (03)
o 85% of poisoning cases reported were of drug origin, of which 1.35% were suicide
Females and young people mainly were reported to self-harm using medications. (03),
attempts. (02)
with a percentage of 60% for women in this study. An increase in analgesic use for self-
o Suicide attempts involving drugs are a major public health problem in our society, which
harm, particularly acetaminophen in adolescents during the school period was reported,
is why it is important elucidate the risk factors and provide better care for these
with two cases in this work, that because these medications are readily available, they can
patients.
be taken in large quantities resulting in empoisoning and death.
o This study focused on the prevalence of drug-induced suicide attempts and its
United States publication reported that between 2000 and 2018, analgesics were
correlation with personality disorders induced by social-economic problems.
involved in 27.5% of 1,677,435 cases of self-poisoning among people aged 10−25. (04)
Provision of school-based mental health programs could be a successful method to
Materials and Methods
minimize future poisonings, also imposing restrictions on the quantity sold per packet
This work is a retrospective study from June 2023 to November 2023 including
should be considered as a solution .(03)
toxicological analysis requests received at Toxicological and biological laboratory of Ali Ait
Comorbid psychiatric illnesses such as depression were associated with drug use for
Idir, in the context of autolysis.
suicidal behavior.(05) Four cases with depression and one with psychotic disorder were
The sociodemographic and clinical features, history of suicide attempts, were
reported in this study. Since not all suicidal behaviors are motivated by a desire to die;
documented by a medical report.
mental health institutions should educate people with mental illnesses, (05)

On January 31, 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert that
RESULT a meta-analysis had found a statistically significant 1.80-fold increased risk for suicidality
Since June 2023 to November 2023, Toxicology and biological laboratory of ALI AIT IDIR associated with all antiepileptic drugs. (06) In the present study, 11 cases of suicide
Hospital has received : attempts with Carbamazepine were recorded.
carbamazepine
34%
Socioeconomic status such as toxicomania are one of the main risk factors for death by
suicide and suicide attempts. (07)

17.74 % paracetamol
CONCLUSION
186 requests
Drug-induced 66%
for toxicological analysis In conclusion, medication analysis is crucial for effective management following a
suicide attempts
suicide attempt. The accurate determination of drug concentrations provides essential
insights into the specific substances involved, facilitating a comprehensive
understanding of the circumstances of the attempt.

Sex ratio 0.43 Average age Moreover, this analysis is available at the Ali Ait Idir Toxicological Laboratory for
M/F 28 years
antiepileptic and analgesic analyses drugs.

The predictive factors with reported case numbers were represented in Figure 1, which Restriction on the quantity of drug sold, public education, and raising the alarm about

illustrates the distribution of these factors based on the data collected in the study. the possible use of drugs for suicide and potential harm of overdose are needed.(08 )

Predictive factors
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Figures 1 Predictive factors of suicide attempts