Shoib Sheikh, Patel Viraj, Khan Sonia, Armiya'u Aishatu Yusha'u, Saeed Fahimeh, Swed Sarya, Das Soumitra, Chandradasa Miyuru
Department of Psychiatry Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Hospital Srinagar Kashmir India.
Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College Ahmedabad Gujarat India.
Health Sci Rep. 2022 May 24;5(3):e662. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.662. eCollection 2022 May.
Minor physical ailments are treated with over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The availability of OTC drugs helps reduce waiting times and ease the suffering of many. Suicidal behavior includes suicidal ideation, attempts, and completed suicides and affects people of all ages, religions, and cultures. This study aims to review use of OTC drugs for self-harm and suicidal attempts.
We reviewed English language publications from the beginning of time to October 2021 on OTC drug use for suicidal behavior.
Twenty-seven studies met the eligibility criteria, and 1,816,228 participants were reported in these publications. OTC analgesics and sedatives/hypnotics were frequently used for suicidal behavior. Females and young people mainly were reported to self-harm using OTC medications. An increase in OTC analgesic use for self-harm in adolescents during the school months was reported. Elderly persons use hypnotics more frequently for suicidal attempts. Persons with major psychiatric disorders were reported to use OTC for suicidal behavior.
The available information shows that the prevention strategies should focus on OTC analgesics and hypnotic use among women, the young, the elderly, and persons with mental health disorders.
轻微身体疾病使用非处方（OTC）药物治疗。非处方药的可得性有助于减少等待时间并减轻许多人的痛苦。自杀行为包括自杀意念、自杀未遂和自杀死亡，影响所有年龄、宗教和文化背景的人群。本研究旨在综述非处方药用于自我伤害和自杀未遂的情况。
我们检索了从有史以来至2021年10月关于非处方药用于自杀行为的英文出版物。
27项研究符合纳入标准，这些出版物中共报告了1,816,228名参与者。非处方镇痛药和镇静催眠药常用于自杀行为。据报告，女性和年轻人主要使用非处方药进行自我伤害。据报告，在校青少年在上学期间使用非处方镇痛药进行自我伤害的情况有所增加。老年人自杀未遂时更频繁地使用催眠药。据报告，患有严重精神疾病的人使用非处方药进行自杀行为。
现有信息表明，预防策略应侧重于女性、年轻人、老年人以及精神疾病患者中非处方镇痛药和催眠药的使用。
