A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control found that adolescent suicide and suicide attempts by poision rapidly increased throughout the pandemic.
The study evaluated suicide and suicide attempts by poison rates from 2019 to 2021.
Rates increased by 30 percent overall among all age groups. The rate increased by 73 percent for adolescents aged 10 to 12. For 13- to 15-year-olds, there was a 48.8 percent increase. Girls seemed to be the most affected, with a 36.8 percent increase in suspected suicides and attempted suicides among all age groups.
"I think the group that really surprised us was the 10 to 12 year old age group, where we saw a 73 percent increase, and I can tell you that from my clinical practice, this is what we're seeing also," Chris Holstege, MD, study co-author and professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics and chief of the division of medical toxicology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, told ABC affiliate WXOW. "We're seeing very young ages ages that I didn't used to see attempting suicide by poisoning."
Most of the children used common household medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and diphenhydramine. There was a 71 percent jump from 2019 to 2021 in attempts at suicide using acetaminophen alone, Dr. Holstege told the news outlet.