Suicidal behavior and postmortem forensic toxicological findings

Leo Sher, M.D.

A research report, “Suicidal behavior and its relationship with postmortem forensic toxicological findings” was published in June 2022 in Toxics (1). Researchers in Spain analyzed the types and combinations of toxic substances found in individuals who died by suicide using different suicide methods.

A total of 355 autopsies were retrospectively studied. Suicides with positive toxicology for alcohol and drugs were observed in 202 victims (56.9%), 155 men and 47 women. Twenty-six toxic substances were detected. Hanging (55%), drug overdose (22.7%), and jumping from a height (17.8%) were most frequent suicide methods with positive toxicology. Hanging was the most frequent method in men (50.3%), while jumping from a height was more frequent in women (29.7%).

Drugs of abuse were the most frequent substances found in men (55.5%), while medications were the most frequent substances found in women (70.3%). Alcohol, nordiazepam, cocaine, and venlafaxine were the most frequently consumed substances. Alcohol was the most frequently detected substance. Alcohol was found more frequently in men (23.5%) than in women (13.51%). Benzodiazepines and venlafaxine were found in suicides involving drug overdose, hanging, and jumping from a height.

Reference

1. Collados-Ros A, Torres-Sánchez C, Pérez-Cárceles MD, Luna A, Legaz I. Suicidal behavior and its relationship with postmortem forensic toxicological findings. Toxics. 2022 Jun 11;10(6):319. doi: 10.3390/toxics10060319.