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Paraquat Prohibition and Change in the Suicide Rate and Methods in South Korea

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Listed:
  • Woojae Myung
  • Geung-Hee Lee
  • Hong-Hee Won
  • Maurizio Fava
  • David Mischoulon
  • Maren Nyer
  • Doh Kwan Kim
  • Jung-Yoon Heo
  • Hong Jin Jeon

Abstract

The annual suicide rate in South Korea is the highest among the developed countries. Paraquat is a highly lethal herbicide, commonly used in South Korea as a means for suicide. We have studied the effect of the 2011 paraquat prohibition on the national suicide rate and method of suicide in South Korea. We obtained the monthly suicide rate from 2005 to 2013 in South Korea. In our analyses, we adjusted for the effects of celebrity suicides, and economic, meteorological, and seasonal factors on suicide rate. We employed change point analysis to determine the effect of paraquat prohibition on suicide rate over time, and the results were verified by structural change analysis, an alternative statistical method. After the paraquat prohibition period in South Korea, there was a significant reduction in the total suicide rate and suicide rate by poisoning with herbicides or fungicides in all age groups and in both genders. The estimated suicide rates during this period decreased by 10.0% and 46.1% for total suicides and suicides by poisoning of herbicides or fungicides, respectively. In addition, method substitution effect of paraquat prohibition was found in suicide by poisoning by carbon monoxide, which did not exceed the reduction in the suicide rate of poisoning with herbicides or fungicides. In South Korea, paraquat prohibition led to a lower rate of suicide by paraquat poisoning, as well as a reduction in the overall suicide rate. Paraquat prohibition should be considered as a national suicide prevention strategy in developing and developed countries alongside careful observation for method substitution effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Woojae Myung & Geung-Hee Lee & Hong-Hee Won & Maurizio Fava & David Mischoulon & Maren Nyer & Doh Kwan Kim & Jung-Yoon Heo & Hong Jin Jeon, 2015. "Paraquat Prohibition and Change in the Suicide Rate and Methods in South Korea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0128980
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128980
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hong-Hee Won & Woojae Myung & Gil-Young Song & Won-Hee Lee & Jong-Won Kim & Bernard J Carroll & Doh Kwan Kim, 2013. "Predicting National Suicide Numbers with Social Media Data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-6, April.
    2. Zeileis, Achim & Kleiber, Christian & Kramer, Walter & Hornik, Kurt, 2003. "Testing and dating of structural changes in practice," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 44(1-2), pages 109-123, October.
    3. Van Der Hoek, W. & Konradsen, F. & Athukorala, K. & Wanigadewa, T., 0. "Pesticide poisoning: A major health problem in Sri Lanka," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 495-504, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yangwoo Kim & Jeehee Min & Soo-Jin Lee, 2019. "Suicide Overall and Suicide by Pesticide Rates among South Korean Workers: A 15-Year Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Jong Hwan Suh, 2019. "SocialTERM-Extractor: Identifying and Predicting Social-Problem-Specific Key Noun Terms from a Large Number of Online News Articles Using Text Mining and Machine Learning Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-44, January.
    3. Wen-Tien Tsai, 2020. "Status of herbicide use, regulatory management and case study of paraquat in Taiwan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 2673-2683, March.
    4. Soonjoo Park & Yeong-Jun Song & Jinseob Kim & Myung Ki & Ji-Yeon Shin & Young-Man Kwon & Jiseun Lim, 2018. "Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Suicide Mortality in South Korea, 1992–2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-8, July.

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