Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37230472›Full record

ArticleThe Medical journal of Australia2023

Psychotropic and other medicine use at time of death by suicide: a population-level analysis of linked dispensing and forensic toxicology data.

Kate M Chitty, Nicholas A Buckley, Jessy Lim, Zein Ali, Jennifer L Schumann, Rose Cairns, Benjamin Daniels, Sallie A Pearson, David B Preen, Andrea L Schaffer

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Medical journal of Australia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Kate M ChittyThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.ORCID 0000-0002-7119-8953
Nicholas A BuckleyThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Jessy LimThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Zein AliThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Jennifer L SchumannVictorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
Rose CairnsThe University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Benjamin DanielsThe University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.ORCID 0000-0001-8617-6055
Sallie A PearsonThe University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
David B PreenThe University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.
Andrea L SchafferThe Bennett Institute of Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-3701-4997
The University of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AUThe University of Western Australia · AUUniversity of Oxford · GBVictorian Institute of Forensic Medicine · AU

Funding

Cancer Institute NSW ECF1381National Health and Medical Research Council 1122362National Health and Medical Research Council 1157757National Health and Medical Research Council 1158763National Health and Medical Research Council 1196516National Health and Medical Research Council 196900Translational Australian Clinical Toxicology Research Group
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo determine the numbers and types of medicines dispensed around the time of death to people who die by suicide; to compare the medicines recently dispensed and those recorded in post mortem toxicology reports. DESIGN, SETTING,

participantsAnalysis of linked National Coronial Information System (NCIS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data from the Australian Suicide Prevention using Health Linked Data (ASHLi) study, a population-based case series study of closed coronial cases for deaths of people in Australia aged ten years or more during 1 July 2013 - 10 October 2019 deemed by coroners to be the result of intentional self-harm.

main outcome measuresProportions of people to whom medicines were dispensed around the time of death, by medicine group, class, and specific medicine; comparison of medicines recently dispensed and those detected by post mortem toxicology.

resultsToxicology reports were available for 13 541 of 14 206 people who died by suicide (95.3%; 10 246 men, 75.7%); poisoning with medicines contributed to 1163 deaths (8.6%). At least one PBS-subsidised medicine had been dispensed around the time of death to 7998 people (59.1%). For three medicine classes, the proportions of people in whom the medicines were detected post mortem and their death was deemed medicine-related were larger for those without records of recent dispensing than for people for whom they had been dispensed around the time of death: antidepressants (17.7% v 12.0%), anxiolytics (16.3% v 14.8%), and sedatives/hypnotics (24.3% v 16.5%). At least one recently dispensed medicine not detected post mortem was identified for 6208 people (45.8%).

conclusionsA considerable proportion of people who died by suicide were not taking psychotropic medicines recently dispensed to them, suggesting non-adherence to pharmacotherapy, and a smaller than expected proportion were using antidepressants. Conversely, medicines that had not recently been dispensed were detected post mortem in many people for whom poisoning with medicines was a contributing factor, suggesting medicine stockpiling.

Indexed as

SuicideAntidepressive AgentsAustraliaForensic ToxicologyHumansMalePsychotropic DrugsAntidepressive AgentsPsychotropic DrugsPharmacoepidemiologySuicideToxicology

Identifiers

PMID37230472
PMCPMC10952140
OpenAlexW4378190133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.