Toxic events in adolescents from 2015 to 2022: characteristics and factors associated with suicide attempts

The present study aimed to analyze toxic events among adolescents and to determine whether or not sociodemographic factors, the means of exposure, the class of the toxic agent and the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods were in fact associated with suicide attempts. This work was a cross-sectional study conducted with secondary data on adolescents exposed to toxic agents between 2015 and 2022, treated at the Center for Information and Toxicological Care in Ceará. The prevalence ratios, together with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%Cis), were estimated, using the Poisson regression with robust variance between the explanatory variables and suicide attempt. Of the 703 cases of poisoning among adolescents, 69.6% (95%CI 66.0-72.8) were female and 77.6% (95%CI 74.4-80.7) were suicide attempts. In relation to the toxic agents used, 63.9% used medication and 17.4% used pesticides, with 44.1% of these cases involving insecticides that are illegal in Brazil. In the multivariate analysis, wellbeing during the pandemic period, being female, increase in age, being at home, using medication and pesticides, and the combined use of two or more agents continued to be associated with a higher prevalence of suicide attempts. The findings highlight the need for preventive actions focused on the home environment, the control of toxic substances, and the protection of more vulnerable adolescents, such as women.