Social and economic variables related with Paraquat self-poisoning: an ecological study

BACKGROUND: Paraquat self-poisonings constitute a significant contributor to the global burden of suicide. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between social and economic variables with the incidence of self-poisoning with Paraquat in the northeast of Colombia. METHODS: Records of 154 cases of self-poisoning with Paraquat and several socio-economic variables of six regions of northeast of Colombia were analyzed. RESULTS: Most of the cases were mestizos, farmworkers, between 20 and 29 years, with intentional exposure using the oral route. Multivariate analyses revealed significant associations among the incidence of self-poisoning with PQ with the ecological factors such as poverty greater than 30% (IRR 15.9 IC95% 5.56–44.72), land Gini index < 0.7 (IRR 7.11 IC95% 3.58–14.12), private health insurance < 40% (IRR 3.39 IC95% 1.30–8.82) and planted area > 10% (IRR 2.47 IC95% 1.60–3.80). CONCLUSION: There is a relationship between ecological factors and, as such, this study opens the way to further developments in the field.