Teen poisonings increase
Tuesday May 17th, 2016
British teens are suffering from growing numbers of poisoning incidents, many involving alcohol, according to a study published today.
Researchers found a 27% increase in rates of adolescent poisonings over a 20 year period.
The study, reported in Injury Prevention, finds that 64% of poisonings were intentional.
The researchers say that intentional poisonings among teenaged girls - possibly linked to self-harm - increased most. There was also a big increase in alcohol poisoning among girls aged 15-16.
Overall girls suffered more poisoning incidents than boys. There were 17,862 cases recorded over the two decades.
The research found that teenagers from poor areas were up to three times more likely than others to poison themselves.
The findings come from a study of GP records held for more than 1.3 million teenagers.
Researcher Dr Edward Tyrrell, from Nottingham University, said there were several possible explanations, including changes in the way GPs record incidents.
He said: “We must consider whether this reflects real changes, increased health seeking behaviour or changes in GP coding practices, or popular trends, such as clinicians perceiving intentional poisonings as more frequent and therefore recording events as such.
“One potential explanation for the increase in alcohol poisonings over time is increased availability, with the relative affordability of alcohol in the UK increasing steadily between 1980 and 2012, licensing hours having increased since 2003, and numbers of outlets increasing alongside alcohol harm."
He added: “Since intentional and alcohol related adolescent poisoning rates are increasing, both child and adolescent mental health and alcohol treatment service provision needs to be commissioned to reflect this changing need."
Changes in poisonings among adolescents in the UK between 1992 and 2012: a population based cohort study Injury Prevention 17 March 2016; doi 10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041901 [abstract]
Tags: Drug & Alcohol Abuse | General Health | Infancy to Adolescence | Mental Health | UK News
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