Since 2011, children younger than 19 years have been increasingly attempting suicide by poisoning themselves, according to a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
Researchers conducted a review of suspected suicide self-poisoning cases among 10- to 24-year- olds reported to the National Poison Data System from U.S. poison centers from 2000 to 2018.
Of 1.62 million suspected suicide self-poisoning cases, 71 percent were female. Among children ages 10 to 15 years from 2000 to 2010, there was a drop in number and rate per 100,000 population of suicide by self-poisoning cases.
However, there was a significant increase in suicide by self-poisoning cases among children ages 10 to 18 years, from 125 percent in 2011, to 299 percent in 2018. The significant increase was driven primarily by girls.