Self-poisonings with psychopharmacological agents in Zagreb.

1. A 5-year retrospective study of 1743 episodes of self-poisoning in 1608 adult patients, was undertaken to determine the frequency of self-poisoning with psychopharmacological agents, the frequency of each toxic agent usage and the epidemiological characteristics of the poisoned population. 2. The annual incidence of self-poisoning in Zagreb was 38.7 per 100,000 adult inhabitants. The anxiolytic-antipsychotic-antidepressant usage ratio was 8.8:1.5:1.0 in total self-poisoning, whereas it was 4.9:1.5:1.0 in patients with a previous history of self-poisoning. The use of anxiolytics decreased and the use of antidepressants increased during the 5 years. 3. The female-male ratio was 3.8:1 and 77% of self-poisoned persons were aged 15-44 years. The incidence of self-poisoning was 74% higher in the urban than in the rural population. The proportion of self-poisoned persons was 204% higher among the unemployed than in the population as a whole. There were 76% more repetitors among highly educated and 43% fewer repetitors among students than in the general population. The use of antipsychotics was 120% higher in males than in females. The use of antidepressants was 107% higher in the highly educated. 4. The increased use of antidepressants in self-poisoning is an alarming signal and caution in their prescription seems to be indicated.