Academic Journal
The burden of suicide by paraquat poisoning in Taiwan (1987-2017): trends, geographic variations, and demographic characteristics.
| Τίτλος: | The burden of suicide by paraquat poisoning in Taiwan (1987-2017): trends, geographic variations, and demographic characteristics. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Chang HY; Global Health Program, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Tu CY; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan.; Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.; Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Lin CY; Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan., Hsu CY; Department of Psychiatry, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.; Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.; Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan., Yen TH; Department of Nephrology and Clinical Poison Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan., Gunnell D; Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK., Eddleston M; Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, and Pharmacology, Toxicology, & Therapeutics, Institute for Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK., Chang SS; Global Health Program, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. shusenchang@ntu.edu.tw.; Psychiatric Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan. shusenchang@ntu.edu.tw.; Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Room 623, No.17, Xu-Zhou Road, Taipei, 10055, Taiwan. shusenchang@ntu.edu.tw.; Population Health Research Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. shusenchang@ntu.edu.tw. |
| Πηγή: | BMC public health [BMC Public Health] 2026 Sep 02; Vol. 26 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 02. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Paraquat*/poisoning , Suicide*/statistics & numerical data , Suicide*/trends , Pesticides*/poisoning, Taiwan/epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Poisoning |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Pesticide self-poisoning accounts for 14%-20% of global suicides. Paraquat, a highly lethal pesticide, is involved in a considerable number of suicides in some countries. This study investigated the burden, trends, geographic variations, and demographic characteristics of pesticide and paraquat suicides in Taiwan. Methods: Suicide data (1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002-2017) were obtained from Taiwan's cause-of-death mortality data files. Trends and geographic variations in pesticide and paraquat suicides were examined using graphs and maps. Logistic regression was used to investigate the differences in the characteristics of pesticide versus non-pesticide suicides and paraquat versus non-paraquat pesticide suicides. Results: Age-standardised pesticide suicide rates decreased by 74%, from 7.7 to 2.0 per 100,000, in 1987-2017. Paraquat was the leading agent involved in pesticide suicides, accounting for 59.9% (2,268/3,786) of pesticide suicides where the pesticide agents involved were recorded on the death certificate and at least 4.0% (2,268/56,361) of overall suicides in Taiwan. The percentage of paraquat suicides in overall suicides varied markedly across cities/counties (0.4%-15.6%). Pesticide suicides were more likely to be male, older people aged 65 + years, and from rural areas than non-pesticide suicides. By contrast, paraquat suicides tended to be younger than non-paraquat pesticide suicides, with no difference in sex distributions in the two groups. Conclusions: The ban on paraquat implemented in 2018-2020 would have a significant impact on pesticide suicides and overall suicides, particularly in high-risk areas and demographic groups. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by Research Ethics Committee of National Taiwan University Hospital (201606036RIN). All procedures were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Grant Information: | NSTC 111-2314-B-002-290 National Science and Technology Council; CT-5699(a) Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, University of Edinburgh; NTU-113L900401 Population Health and Welfare Research Center from the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Paraquat, Pesticide suicide, Pesticide ban, Suicide prevention, Taiwan |
| Substance Nomenclature: | PLG39H7695 (Paraquat) 0 (Pesticides) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260926 Date Completed: 20260926 Latest Revision: 20260928 |
| Update Code: | 20260928 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13615600 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-026-29134-x |
| PMID: | 42800864 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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