Korean J Intern Med.  2009 Sep;24(3):247-251. 10.3904/kjim.2009.24.3.247.

Paraquat Intoxication in Subjects Who Attempt Suicide: Why They Chose Paraquat

• Seok SJ
• Gil HW
• Jeong DS
• Yang JO
• Lee EY
• Hong SY

• KMID: 1717949
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2009.24.3.247

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Paraquat (PQ) has been used in suicide attempts; an estimated 2,000 toxic ingestions occur annually, with 60-70% mortality. We sought to determine why PQ is such a common agent for suicide attempts in Korea. METHODS: We analyzed 250 cases (143 males, 107 females) of attempted suicide by PQ ingestion from January to December 2007. The procurement of the PQ was divided into two categories: purchased and preexisting. RESULTS: Men were more likely to have purchased PQ than women (66% vs. 22%, p=0.042). Additionally, men were more likely to be unmarried (n=34, 23.9% vs. n=10, 9.3%) or divorced or separated (n=16, 11.3% vs. n=5, 4.6%) than the women (p<0.001). The group who intentionally selected PQ (38.4%) consisted of 96 cases (54 males, 42 females) and the group who did not intentionally select PQ (61.6%) included 154 cases (89 males, 65 females). The incidence of PQ purchase was higher in the intentional selection PQ group (46.9% vs. 18.2%, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Only 38% of patients who attempted suicide with PQ intentionally selected PQ. Thus, greater control of PQ availability is needed, especially in patients at risk.

Keyword

Paraquat; Suicide, attempted

MeSH Terms

Adult
Female
Herbicides/*poisoning
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Paraquat/*poisoning
*Suicide, Attempted/psychology