Intentional self-poisoning versus other methods of suicide in illicit drug users, according to gender

Monitoring of the association between suicide and drug-related deaths (DRDs) in illicit drug users is not carried out consistently in many European countries. In our study, we evaluated DRD suicides unrelated to alcohol in Slovenia during the years 2002-2007, and compared suicide methods between males and females. Out of 356 cases of DRD, 106 (64 males and 42 females) were DRD suicides. Of these, 69 (65.1%) were due to intentional self-poisoning by drugs, 30 (28.3%) were due to other methods for committing suicide, and 7 (6.6%) utilized intentional poisoning together with another method. Females were older than males; self-poisoning with benzodiazepines was more frequent in females and, in our study, no females were self-harmed by hanging, by suffocation, or by firearms. In females, age was tested as a risk factor that has proved to be more important than suicide modality, but the use of benzodiazepines in female illicit drug users should be considered a critical issue with increasing age.