Emerging pesticides responsible for suicide in rural Sri Lanka following the 2008-2014 pesticide bans (original) (raw)
Related papers
2019
Background Pesticide self-poisoning is a common means of suicide in India. Banning highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) from agricultural use has been successful in reducing suicides in several Asian countries without affecting agricultural output. Here, we describe national and state-level regulation of HHPs and explore how they might relate to suicide rates across India.Methods Information on pesticide regulation was collated from agriculture departments of the central and state governments. National and state-level data on suicides from 1995 to 2015 were obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). We used joinpoint analysis and negative binomial regression to investigate any effects on trends in suicide rates nationally and in Kerala.Results As of October 2019, 318 pesticides were registered for use in India, of which 18 were extremely (Class Ia) or highly (Class Ib) hazardous according to World Health Organization criteria. Despite many HHPs still being available, seve...
Regulation of highly hazardous pesticides in India - implications for suicide prevention
2019
Background: Pesticide self-poisoning is a common means of suicide in India. Banning highly hazardous pesticides from agricultural use has been successful in reducing total suicide numbers in several South Asian countries without affecting agricultural output. Here, we describe national and state-level regulation of highly hazardous pesticides and relate them to suicide rates across India. Methods: Information on pesticide regulation was collated from agriculture departments of central and state governments. National and state-level data on suicides for 1995 until 2015 was obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). We used joinpoint analysis and negative binomial regression to investigate the possible effects of pesticide bans on trends in suicide rates. Results: As of August 2019, 314 pesticides were registered for use in India, of which 18 were extremely (Class Ia) or highly (Class Ib) hazardous according to World Health Organization toxicity criteria. Despite many hig...
Changes in method specific suicide following a national pesticide ban in India (2011–2014)
Journal of Affective Disorders, 2021
Background: This paper investigates whether declines in suicide by insecticide poisoning in India following a national ban on endosulfan in 2011were associated with changes in other methods of suicide and total suicide rates. Method: Method-specific suicide rates between 2001-2014 were calculated using National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data by sex, age group and region, with observed rates compared to expected rates for the period post-2011. Results: There were an estimated 20,146 fewer male and 8,418 fewer female suicides by insecticide poisoning and 5542 fewer male and 2679 fewer female suicides by all other methods following the national endosulfan ban. Contemporaneously, an estimated 92% (23,812) of male and 60% (6,735) of female suicides prevented by insecticide poisoning and all other methods were offset to increases in suicides by hanging and other poisoning. Joinpoint regression indicated a decrease in suicide by insecticide poisoning following the endosulfan ban (annual percentage change (APC) of-12.18 among males and-11.89 among females between 2010-2014) while an increase in male suicide by hanging was noted between 2009-2014 (APC of 7.05). Limitation: Suicide rates based on the NCRB data might be an underestimation of the true suicide rates. Conclusion: Declines in suicide by insecticide poisoning were largely offset by an increase in hanging suicides among males, however, this phenomenon was much less prominent in females and contributed to declines in total female suicide rates. Prevention strategies must continue to focus on pesticide bans with simultaneous attention on hanging prevention policies to reduce overall suicide rates in India.
Suicide by pesticide ingestion in Nepal and the impact of pesticide regulation
BMC Public Health
Background Nepal recorded 5754 suicides in 2018–19 - a high number for a relatively small country. Over 24% of these suicides were by poisoning, most by ingestion of highly concentrated agricultural pesticides. Nepal has actively regulated pesticides to reduce their health impacts since 2001. We aimed to analyse Nepal’s history of pesticide regulation, pesticides responsible for poisonings, and relate them to national suicide rates. Methods Information on pesticide regulation was collected from the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. National data on suicides from 1980 to 2019 were obtained from the National Statistical Bureau and Nepal Police. Data on the pesticides responsible for self-poisoning and pesticide suicides over time were obtained from a systematic literature review. Results As of June 2020, 171 pesticides were registered for use in Nepal, of which one was extremely hazardous (WHO Class Ia), one othe...
Suicide by intentional ingestion of pesticides: a continuing tragedy in developing countries
International Journal of Epidemiology, 2003
Deliberate self-poisoning has become an increasingly common response to emotional distress in young adults, 1 and it is now one of the most frequent reasons for emergency hospital admission. 2 In industrialized countries, the drugs that people commonly take in overdose-analgesics, tranquillisers, antidepressants 3are relatively non-toxic. The estimated case fatality for overdose in England, for example, is around 0.5%. 4 Most individuals who self-harm do not intend to die. Studies carried out in industrialized countries have found that only 2% go on to commit suicide in the subsequent 12 months. 5 In developing countries the situation is quite different. 6 The substances most commonly used for self-poisoning are agricultural pesticides. 6-11 Overall case fatality ranges from 10% to 20%. 12 For this reason, deaths from pesticide poisoning make a major contribution to patterns of suicide in developing nations, particularly in rural areas. 6 In rural China, for example, pesticides account for over 60% of suicides. 8 Similarly high proportions of suicides are due to pesticides in rural areas of Sri Lanka (71%), 13 Trinidad (68%), 14 and Malaysia (Ͼ90%). 10 There is, however, no evidence that levels of suicidal intent associated with pesticide ingestion in these countries are any higher than those associated with drug overdose in industrialized countries, where the drugs taken in overdose are less toxic.
Suicides and pesticides in Sri Lanka
American journal of public health, 1988
Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world (29 per 100,000 population in 1980). Suicides are especially frequent among young adults, both male and female. Compared to the US, the suicide rate for males ages 15 to 24 years in Sri Lanka is nearly four times greater; the female rate nearly 13 times greater. The most common mode of suicide is ingestion of liquid pesticides.
From pesticides to medicinal drugs: time series analyses of methods of self-harm in Sri Lanka
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2011
Objective To explore if recent changes in methods of self-harm in Sri Lanka could explain the decline in the incidence of suicide. Methods Time series analyses of suicide rates and hospitalization due to different types of poisoning were carried out. Findings Between 1996 and 2008 the annual incidence of hospital admission resulting from poisoning by medicinal or biological substances increased exponentially, from 48.2 to 115.4 admissions per 100 000 population. Over the same period, annual admissions resulting from poisoning with pesticides decreased from 105.1 to 88.9 per 100 000. The annual incidence of suicide decreased exponentially, from a peak of 47.0 per 100 000 in 1995 to 19.6 per 100 000 in 2009. Poisoning accounted for 37.4 suicides per 100 000 population in 1995 but only 11.2 suicides per 100 000 in 2009. The case fatality rate for pesticide poisoning decreased linearly, from 11.0 deaths per 100 cases admitted to hospital in 1997 to 5.1 per 100 in 2008. Conclusion Since the mid 1990s, a trend away from the misuse of pesticides (despite no reduction in pesticide availability) and towards increased use of medicinal and other substances has been seen in Sri Lanka among those seeking self-harm. These trends and a reduction in mortality among those suffering pesticide poisoning have resulted in an overall reduction in the national incidence of accomplished suicide.
Pesticide practices and suicide among farmers of the sundarban region in India
Food and nutrition bulletin, 2007
Deliberate self-poisoning by ingesting pesticides is a serious health problem among farmers, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Preventing these suicides is a priority for a public mental health agenda. To examine the role of pesticide poisoning in suicide and nonfatal deliberate self-harm, and clarify awareness of risks, safe practices concerning storage and use of pesticides, and associated self-injury, both unintentional and intentional, within farmer households of the Sundarban region, India. Retrospective record review of adult cases of deliberate self-poisoning at the Block Primary Health Centres of 13 Sundarban Blocks was performed to analyze the relative roles of various methods of self-harm and their lethality. Focus group discussions, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews were undertaken in a community study of farmer households to examine pesticide-related views and practices, with particular attention to storage, use, and health impact. Pesticide poisoning...
Risk factors for acute pesticide poisoning in Sri Lanka
Tropical Medicine & …, 2005
This report describes the characteristics of patients with acute pesticide poisoning in a rural area of Sri Lanka and, for intentional self-poisoning cases, explores the relative importance of the different determinants. Data were collected for 239 acute pesticide-poisoning cases, which were admitted to two rural hospitals in Sri Lanka. Sociodemographic characteristics, negative life events and agricultural practices of the intentional self-poisoning cases were compared with a control group. Most cases occurred among young adults and the large majority (84%) was because of intentional self-poisoning. Case fatality was 18% with extremely high case fatality for poisoning with the insecticide endosulfan and the herbicide paraquat. Cases were generally younger than controls, of lower educational status and were more often unemployed. No agricultural risk factors were found but a family history of pesticide poisoning and having ended an emotional relationship in the past year was clearly associated with intentional self-poisoning. The presence of mental disorders could only be assessed for a subsample of the cases and controls and this showed that alcohol dependence was a risk factor. This study shows that acute pesticide poisoning in Sri Lanka is determined by a combination of sociodemographic and psychological factors. Suggestions are given for interventions that could control the morbidity and mortality due to acute pesticide poisoning in developing countries.