Trends in intentional and unintentional poisonings among older adults - A national register-based study in Sweden

Abstract

Background Among older people intentional poisoning outnumber unintentional ones. While there are indications that time trends differ by poisoning intent, studies are scarce. We assessed how the annual prevalence of intentional and unintentional poisoning changed over time, overall and by demographic groups. Methods We conducted a national open cohort study of individuals aged 50–100 years, resident in Sweden during 2005–2016. Individuals were followed up in population-based registers for their demographic and health attributes from 2006–2016. Annual prevalence of hospitalization and death by poisoning intent (unintentional vs. intentional or undetermined; ICD-10 definitions) were compiled for the categories of four demographic attributes (age, sex, marital status, and birth cohort “baby boomers”). The time trends were assessed by multinomial logistic regression with year as an independent variable. Results The annual overall prevalence of hospitalization and death by intentional poisonings consistently exceeded that of unintentional poisonings. There was a significant downward trend in intentional poisonings but not in unintentional ones. This difference in trends also applied when considering men and women separately, married and unmarried people, the young-old individuals (but not the older- or oldest-old ones), and the baby boomers and non-baby boomers. The largest demographic differences within intent were found between married and unmarried people, and the smallest one between men and women. Conclusion As expected, the annual prevalence of intentional poisonings considerably exceed that of unintentional ones among Swedish older people. The recent trends reveal a significant reduction of intentional poisonings, consistent across a range of demographic attributes. The scope for action regarding this preventable cause of mortality and morbidity remains considerable.

Trends of fall-related and other fatal injuries in older adults in Finland between 1998 and 2020

“…For example, a Swedish study of 50- to 100-year-old individuals between 2005 and 2016 reveals there has been a significant decrease in intentional poisoning leading to death among older adults, but not unintentional ones. 9 A large study on unintentional drowning mortality from 60 countries showed a great variation in age-standardized mortality rate, e.g. countries such as Finland, Japan and Greece had a high rank in mortality rate among older adults.…”