Citation

Peter JV, Mampilly AP. Curr. Med. Iss. (Vellore) 2023; 21(2): e79.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Christian Medical College Vellore Association, Publisher Wolters Kluwer - Medknow Publications)

DOI

10.4103/cmi.cmi_13_23

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The burden of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is high in India, with reports suggesting that there is one farmer suicide every 35 min.[1] The National Crime Records Bureau data show that the incidence of farmer suicides has remained high between 2014 and 2020.[2] When the annual rate of suicide worldwide was 10.5% in 2016, the corresponding Indian data were much higher at 16.5%.[3] According to the analysis of suicides in India,[4] 164,033 suicides were reported during 2021, an increase of 6.2% from 2020. Nearly 50% of the suicides were reported from Maharashtra (13%), Tamil Nadu (11%), Madhya Pradesh (9%), West Bengal (8%), and Karnataka (8%). A systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 2010 to 2020 in the Indian population revealed that pesticides were the main cause of poisoning accounting for 63% of the incidence.[5] In an analysis of data from 108 countries, which included the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide data, it was estimated that there were around 110,000 pesticide self-poisoning deaths each year from 2010 to 2014, which was 13.7% of global suicides.[6] DSH in high-income countries is often with drugs such as analgesics and antidepressants while pesticides are frequently used in middle- and low-income countries. Pesticides are highly toxic in small quantities with a mouthful or 20 ml resulting in case fatality exceeding 40% for some highly hazardous compounds.[7] Fatality is higher in remote areas since patients present late to hospitals which are poorly resourced. Thus, the problem of DSH, which has reached epidemic proportions in India, needs to be tackled on a war footing.

Language: en