Association of Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), with suicidal attempts in Pakistan- A cross-sectional study

This study will provide us the details about the vulnerable population in relation to suicidal attempts by ingesting paraphenylenediamine and will help in designing focused preventive measures to address this serious health issue while reducing the burden on healthcare resources.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021 at the National Poison Control Centre, Karachi, using a consecutive sampling technique. The sample size was n = 321 reported cases of Paraphenylenediamine poisoning, data was collected from the hospital record. Incomplete records were excluded. The analysis was done using SPSS Statistics (version 22), a statistical software suite developed by IBM. Numerical data was expressed as mean and standard deviation. Categorical data associations were recorded using chi-square. A p-value less than 0.05 was taken as significant.

There were n = 321 patients who reported with paraphenylenediamine poisoning to National Poison Control Centre, of which 53.8% (n = 173) were females. While 55.4%(n = 178) of patients were young post-adolescent adults (aged 20-40 years). Analysis according to months revealed that a maximum number of cases 15.26% (n = 49) were reported in April. The mortality rate was 12.1% (n = 39).

Paraphenylenediamine ingestion has a strong association with suicidal attempts, post-adolescent females are most vulnerable. The cases of paraphenylenediamine ingestion were highest in Spring and summer seasons in Karachi. A nationwide ban on the trade of paraphenylenediamine will obviously reduce accessibility and the number of suicides.