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Suicide Attempts Large Portion of Drug-Related Hospital ED Visits

A new series of studies analyzing drug-related hospital emergency department (ED) visits throughout the country during 2008 reveals a substantial percentage of these visits involve suicide attempts. According to these studies conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) more than one in every twelve (8.8%) drug-related hospital ED visit by an adolescent is a suicide attempt—double the rate found among cases involving those aged 25 and older (4.4%). Among cases involving young adults aged 18 to 25 the attempted suicide rate was 6.6%.

The vast majority of these suicide attempts by adolescents were made by females (72.3%). Females constituted a majority of cases among young adults and those over the age of 25 as well, but at significantly lower levels (57.6% and 57.7%, respectively).

Although pharmaceutical drugs were involved in more than nine out of 10 of these drug-related suicide attempt cases, there were considerable differences in the patterns of substances used among various age and gender groups.

The studies also reveal significant differences in the level of follow up care (e.g., inpatient admission, transfer to another hospital facility or referral to detoxification) given in these cases—differences often associated with the type of substance used and the age of those attempting suicide.

For example, while over 90.2% of adolescents who visited hospital EDs for attempting suicide with antidepressants received follow up care, only 52.4% of adolescent cases involving ibuprofen received it. Similarly, 83.1% of the cases involving adolescents using alcohol received follow up care while only 59.4% of alcohol related cases among those aged 25 or older received it.

— Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration