Schmitt Michael W, Williams Timothy L, Woodard Kristinza R, Harruff Richard C
King County Medical Examiner's Office, 325 Ninth Avenue, HMC Box 359792, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2011 May;56(3):652-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01688.x. Epub 2011 Feb 3.
Carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation is one of the leading methods of suicide in the United States. A sharp increase in suicide by inhaling the CO produced from burning charcoal has been reported in parts of Asia; however, the incidence of this method has not been determined in a U.S. population. Thus, we determined trends of CO suicide in the ethnically diverse population of King County, Washington, U.S.A. During the period 1996-2009, we identified 158 cases of suicide by CO poisoning, with 125 because of automotive exhaust, 26 because of charcoal burning, and seven from other CO sources. While historical U.S. data indicate >99% of CO suicides in the United States occurring by automobile exhaust inhalation, in the most recent years analyzed, c. 40% of CO-related suicides in King County, Washington, were because of charcoal burning, indicating a possible shift in suicide trends that warrants further scrutiny in additional populations.
吸入一氧化碳（CO）是美国主要的自杀方式之一。据报道，亚洲部分地区因吸入燃烧木炭产生的一氧化碳而自杀的人数急剧增加；然而，在美国人群中这种自杀方式的发生率尚未确定。因此，我们确定了美国华盛顿州金县不同种族人群中一氧化碳自杀的趋势。在1996 - 2009年期间，我们确定了158例一氧化碳中毒自杀病例，其中125例是由于汽车尾气，26例是由于燃烧木炭，7例来自其他一氧化碳来源。虽然美国历史数据表明美国超过99%的一氧化碳自杀是通过吸入汽车尾气发生的，但在最近分析的年份中，华盛顿州金县约40%与一氧化碳相关的自杀是由于燃烧木炭，这表明自杀趋势可能发生了转变，值得在更多人群中进行进一步审查。
