지난 10년간 응급실로 내원한 자해/자살 시도자의 양상 및 주요 수단으로서의 중독질환 변화 추이 분석(2011–2020)

초록

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed toidentify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 inthe Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients’ sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm,and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, as phyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poi soning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). Themortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method(61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals intheir 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. Alarge proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. Thepercentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). Thedeath rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide preventionpolicies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poi soning, the 10–29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to re duce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.

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