1. The early impact of paraquat ban on suicide in Taiwan.
- Author
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Chang, Shu-Sen, Lin, Chien-Yu, Lee, Ming-Been, Shen, Lih-Jong, Gunnell, David, and Eddleston, Michael
- Subjects
SUICIDE statistics ,PARAQUAT ,SUICIDE ,PESTICIDES ,SUICIDE victims ,SUICIDE prevention ,HERBICIDES ,POISONING - Abstract
Pesticide ingestion is a leading method for suicide worldwide. Paraquat is a highly lethal herbicide when ingested. We assessed the impact of the first-stage ban on the import and production of paraquat (from February 2018) on suicides by pesticide poisoning in Taiwan. Suicide data by method (pesticide vs. non-pesticide), pesticide (paraquat vs. non-paraquat), and area/sex/age were extracted from the national cause-of-death data files (2011–2019). Negative binomial regression was used to estimate changes in suicide rates in 2019, compared to the expected rates based on pre-ban linear trends (2011–2017). The paraquat ban was followed by an estimated 37% (rate ratio [RR] = 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54–0.74) reduction in pesticide suicide rate (190 [95% CI 116–277] fewer suicides) in 2019, mainly due to a 58% (RR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.33–0.54) reduction in paraquat suicides (145 [95% CI 92–213] fewer suicides). Larger absolute reductions in pesticide suicides were found in rural areas, males, and the elderly (aged 65+ years) than their counterparts. Except for a 10% (95% CI 3–18%) reduction in overall suicide rates in the elderly, there was no statistical evidence for a change in non-pesticide and overall (all-method) suicides. The ban on the import and production of paraquat was followed by a fall in whole-population pesticide and paraquat suicides and elderly suicides in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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