Dataset Information

Suicide prevention through means restriction: Impact of the 2008-2011 pesticide restrictions on suicide in Sri Lanka.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate the effect of 3-year phased bans of the pesticides dimethoate and fenthion in 2008-2010, and paraquat in 2009-2011, on suicide mortality in Sri Lanka.

Methods

Age-standardised overall, sex-specific, and method-specific suicide rates were calculated using Sri Lankan police data (1989-2015). Using negative binomial regression models, we estimated the change in the rate and number of suicide deaths in post-ban years (2011-15) compared to those expected based on pre-ban trends (2001-10).

Findings

Overall suicide mortality dropped by 21% between 2011 and 2015, from 18.3 to 14.3 per 100,000. The decline in pesticide suicides during this same period was larger than for overall suicides: from 8.5 to 4.2 per 100,000, a 50% reduction. This was accompanied by a smaller concurrent rise in non-pesticide suicide mortality with a 2% increase (9.9 to 10.1 per 100,000). In 2015, the ratio between the observed and expected pesticide suicide rates was 0.49 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40, 0.62), corresponding to an estimated 937 (95% CI 574, 1389) fewer pesticide suicides than expected from pre-ban suicide rates. Findings were similar in sensitivity analyses using 2008 or 2012 as commencement of the post intervention period.

Conclusion

Bans of paraquat, dimethoate and fenthion in Sri Lanka were associated with a reduction in pesticide suicide mortality and in overall suicide mortality despite a small rise in other methods. This study provides further evidence for the effectiveness of pesticide regulation in limiting the availability of highly hazardous pesticides and thereby reducing the number of global suicides.

SUBMITTER: Knipe DW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5338785 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Suicide prevention through means restriction: Impact of the 2008-2011 pesticide restrictions on suicide in Sri Lanka.

Knipe Duleeka W DW Chang Shu-Sen SS Dawson Andrew A Eddleston Michael M Konradsen Flemming F Metcalfe Chris C Gunnell David D

PloS one 20170306 3

<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate the effect of 3-year phased bans of the pesticides dimethoate and fenthion in 2008-2010, and paraquat in 2009-2011, on suicide mortality in Sri Lanka.<h4>Methods</h4>Age-standardised overall, sex-specific, and method-specific suicide rates were calculated using Sri Lankan police data (1989-2015). Using negative binomial regression models, we estimated the change in the rate and number of suicide deaths in post-ban years (2011-15) compared to those expected based ...[more]

PMID: 28264041

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Project description:BackgroundDengue is the major mosquito-borne disease in Sri Lanka. After its first detection in January 2020, COVID-19 has become the major health issue in Sri Lanka. The impact of public health measures, notably restrictions on movement of people to curb COVID-19 transmission, on the incidence of dengue during the period March 2020 to April 2021 was investigated.MethodsThe incidence of dengue and COVID-19, rainfall and the public movement restrictions implemented to contain COVID-19 transmission were obtained from Sri Lanka government sources. A Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was used to predict the monthly dengue incidence from March 2020 to April 2021 for each of the country's 25 districts based on five years of pre-pandemic data, and compared with the actual recorded incidence of dengue during this period. Ovitrap collections of Aedes larvae were performed in Jaffna city in the Jaffna district from August 2020 to April 2021 and the findings compared with similar collections made in the pre-pandemic period from March 2019 to December 2019.ResultsThe recorded numbers of dengue cases for every month from March 2020 to April 2021 in the whole country and for all 25 districts over the same period were lower than the numbers of dengue cases predicted from data for the five years (2015-2019) immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of dengue cases recorded nationwide represented a 74% reduction from the predicted number of dengue cases for the March 2020 to April 2021 period. The numbers of Aedes larvae collected from ovitraps per month were reduced by 88.6% with a lower proportion of Ae. aegypti than Ae. albopictus in Jaffna city from August 2020 until April 2021 compared with March 2019 to December 2019.ConclusionPublic health measures that restricted movement of people, closed schools, universities and offices to contain COVID-19 transmission unexpectedly led to a significant reduction in the reported numbers of dengue cases in Sri Lanka. This contrasts with findings reported from Singapore. The differences between the two tropical islands have significant implications for the epidemiology of dengue. Reduced access to blood meals and lower vector densities, particularly of Ae. aegypti, resulting from the restrictions on movement of people, are suggested to have contributed to the lower dengue incidence in Sri Lanka.

Dataset Information

Suicide prevention through means restriction: Impact of the 2008-2011 pesticide restrictions on suicide in Sri Lanka.

Objective

Methods

Findings

Conclusion

Publications

Suicide prevention through means restriction: Impact of the 2008-2011 pesticide restrictions on suicide in Sri Lanka.

Similar Datasets

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