Suicidal Deaths by Poisoning in Muzaffargarh: Observational Study Comprising of Regional Toxicity Patterns of Acute Poisoning in Cases of Suicidal Deaths in Muzaffargarh

Cases of suicidal deaths are increasing day by day and one of the main reasons is acute poisoning, which is the preferred method of suicide in many areas. The increasing number of deaths led us to conduct a study on this particular aspect. Objectives: To determine the frequency of toxic agents used for poisoning, regional trends of availability, modes and methods of use and reasons for self-poisoning. Methods: In this retrospective study, dead bodies of both genders and all age groups were studied with their respective data and history, for the years of 2019 to 2023. Unidentified, burnt, putrefied and bodies of chronic narcotic abuse were excluded. All the variables were analyzed through SPSS version 27.0. Results: Out of 387 cases of suicidal deaths due to poisoning, 67% were females with the predominant age group of 21 to 40 years. The majority were married and belonged to rural areas of Muzaffargarh with illiteracy levels up to 75%. The widely used poisonous agents were Kala Pathar, Wheat pills and Organophosphorus. Almost 61.7% of families did not allow postmortem of the deceased. Conclusions: It was concluded that suicidal deaths due to poisoning are soaring day by day due to the lack of proper legislation, suicide prevention strategies and provision of health facilities for the people of district Muzaffargarh.