National Estimates of Emergency Department Visits for Medication-related Self-harm—United States, 2016–2019
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National Estimates of Emergency Department Visits for Medication-related Self-harm—United States, 2016–2019

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English
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Details:

  • Alternative Title:
    Inj Prev
  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    Background:

    Medication poisoning is a common form of self-harm injury, and increases in injuries due to self-harm, including suicide attempts, have been reported over the last two decades.

    Methods:

    Cross-sectional (2016–2019) data from sixty emergency departments (EDs) participating in an active, nationally-representative public health surveillance system were analyzed and United States national estimates of ED visits for medication-related self-harm injuries were calculated.

    Results:

    Based on 18,074 surveillance cases, there were an estimated 269,198 (95% confidence interval [CI], 222,059–316,337) ED visits for medication-related self-harm injuries annually in 2016–2019 compared with 1,404,090 visits annually from therapeutic use of medications. Population rates of medication-related self-harm ED visits were highest among persons aged 11–19 years (58.5 [95% CI, 45.0–72.0] per 10,000), and lowest among those aged ≥65 years (6.6 [95% CI, 4.4–8.8] per 10,000). Among persons aged 11–19 years, the ED visit rate for females was four times that for males (95.4 [95% CI, 74.2–116.7] versus 23.0 [95% CI, 16.4–29.6] per 10,000). Medical or psychiatric admission was required for three-quarters (75.1%; 95% CI, 70.0%-80.2%) of visits. Concurrent use of alcohol or illicit substances was documented in 40.2% (95% CI, 36.8%-43.7%) of visits, and multiple medication products were implicated in 38.6% (95% CI, 36.8%-40.4%). The most frequently implicated medication categories varied by patient age.

    Conclusions:

    Medication-related self-harm injuries are an important contributor to the overall burden of ED visits and hospitalizations for medication-related harm, with the highest rates among adolescent and young adult females. These findings support continued prevention efforts targeting patients at risk for self-harm.

  • Subjects:
  • Source:
    Inj Prev. 28(6):545-552
  • Pubmed ID:
    35922136
  • Pubmed Central ID:
    PMC10249045
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Funding:
    CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
  • Volume:
    28
  • Issue:
    6
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
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