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Psychiatric Diagnoses and Gender Differences in Patients Admitted for Pesticide Suicide: An 11-year Retrospective Study in a General Hospital in Taiwan

Chin-Pang Lee, Tzung-Hai Yen, Yeong-Yuh Juang, Chemin Lin, Ja-Liang Lin, Shwu-Hua Lee

Objectives: Pesticide poisoning is a common method of suicide in Taiwan. In this study, we intended to study patients’ underlying psychiatric diagnoses and gender differences. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study on inpatients who had suicide attempts with pesticide-poisoning from 2000 to 2011. The patients were referred to the psychiatric consultation staff, and their diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV. Patients’ demographic and clinical variables, psychiatric diagnoses, and concurrent life stress were obtained and analyzed. Results: Among 177 patients, the majority (77%) of the patients with attempted suicide used organophosphate poisoning. The most frequent diagnoses were depressive disorders (58%), substance use disorders (35%), and adjustment disorder (28%). The male-to-female gender ratio was 2. The male patients had significantly more substance use disorder, particularly alcohol use disorder, than female counterparts (p < 0.01). Patients’ major life stressors were illness, couple conflicts, layoff from jobs, parent-child conflict, and economic stress. Among concurrent life stressors, male patients had significantly more layoff reasons than female patients (p < 0.05). Female patients had significantly more often couple conflicts than male patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients’ gender differences existed in attempted suicide with pesticide poisoning, in demographic profiles and psychiatric diagnoses. Suicide risk assessment and prevention should therefore be considered the patients’ factor of gender.
Key Word suicide, pesticides, psychiatric diagnosis, gender
Editorial Committe, Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry
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