More Drug-Related Emergency Room Visits Attributed to Suicide Attempts
By comparing national statistics from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) on cases of drug-related emergency department visits among all age groups, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) discovered that more emergency cases of drug intoxication are related to suicide. Furthermore, adolescents are more likely than any other age group to attempt suicide by drug use, particularly adolescent females.
The evidence from DAWN’s latest data points to a rising problem among the U.S. population: suicide has become the third leading cause of death among adolescents ages 12 to 17 as well as young adults ages 18 to 24. According to SAMHSA, 34,598 suicides took place in the U.S. in 2007–almost twice as many homicides that year nationwide (18,361). Suicide attempts are considered to be a prominent risk factor for subsequent successful suicide; among U.S. young adults, an average of 3,500 successful suicides takes place each year, with one death occurring per 100 to 200 suicide attempts. Now more than ever, younger adults and adolescents who attempt suicide are resorting to pharmaceutical abuse. For 2008, SAMHSA estimates that 604,808 drug-related visits to emergency departments (ED) were made by U.S. young adults ages 18–24. Of this amount, 38,036 drug-related ED visits–or 6.3%–were suicide attempts using one or more substances. On average, almost one in fifteen drug-related incidents involving a young adult in the U.S. was a suicide attempt, most of which are made by females.
Even worse, SAMHSA’s statistics revealed that drug-related suicide attempts made by adolescents (under the age of 18) was 8.8% (almost one in every twelve ED visits), doubling the rate of those seen among adults ages 25 and older (4.4%). According to national ED data, an overwhelming 72.3% of adolescent suicide attempts involving drug intoxication were made by females. The majority of drug-related suicide attempts within other age groups were also caused by females, though not as significantly prominent: 57.6% of young adult suicide attempts and 57.7% of adult suicide attempts involving drug intoxication were made by females.
Most of the drug-related suicide attempts in 2008 had involved the combination of multiple substances. In total, drug-related suicide attempt cases involved an average of 2.2 substances per ED visit. Also, pharmaceutical drugs were the most common type of substance to be used in suicide attempt; 95.4% of adolescent drug-related suicide attempts and 92.8% of young adult drug-related suicide attempts were caused by pharmaceutical drugs. Despite this prominence of pharmaceutical abuse, the type of pharmaceuticals used in suicide attempts varied among gender and age groups.
Males were more likely to consume multiple substances than females in their attempts, but females were more likely to attempt suicide by drug use. Adolescent males were three times more likely than adolescent females to have used antipsychotic medications in their suicide attempts (14.3% of male cases vs. 4.3% of female cases). Female adolescents were most likely to have used acetaminophen products in drug-related suicide attempts (28.5% of these cases). Adult females ages 25 and older were most likely to have used anti-anxiety medications in their attempts (49.9% of these cases).
Surprisingly, SAMHSA found significant disparities in the type of aftercare administered to ED admissions involved in a suicide attempt based upon which drugs were used as well as the age of the patient. For example, 83.1% of adolescents who has used alcohol in their suicide attempt received aftercare treatment, while only 59.4% of adults ages 25 or older who had used alcohol were referred to aftercare. Over 90.2% of adolescent patients who had used antidepressants in their suicide attempts received aftercare treatment, but only 52.4% of adolescent patients were referred to aftercare treatment if their suicide attempt involved ibuprofen.
Not only do these numbers reveal which groups are most vulnerable to drug use and drug-related suicide attempts, but it also shows which substances are being used by the most vulnerable groups in their attempts. Pharmaceutical abuse continues to escalate in the U.S. and is common among all age groups, yet adolescents were the most likely group to resort to pharmaceuticals when attempting suicide. They were also more likely to experience suicidal ideation than any other group. Furthermore, the quality of aftercare that these suicidal patients received may very well affect the likelihood of them refraining or re-attempting suicide in the future. SAMHSA recommends the need for better aftercare to improve treatment for such critical situations as suicidal ideation and attempts.
SAMHSA’s complete series of drug-related suicides in emergency department visits nationwide can be accessed on SAMHSA’s website at www.samhsa.gov.
