ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBER OF DEATHS DUE TO POISONING BY THE MOST COMMON POISONOUS SUBSTANCES IN THE LVIV REGION IN 2018-2023

Abstract

Drunkenness is an acute social and cultural problem in Ukraine. Alcoholic poisoning occupies a leading position among household poisonings. Alcohol is the cause of more than 60% of all fatal poisonings. Each year, more than 40,000 people in Ukraine die from alcohol poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning also occupies a leading position, the statistics are very sad, adults die, children die. Poisoning with narcotics and psychotropic substances is a very urgent medical and social problem, which is far from being solved today. Aim of the work. To analyse the mortality rate due to poisoning by the most common types of poisons by age and sex of the deceased in Lviv and the region for the period 2018-2023. Materials and methods. In the work, a statistical analysis of expert conclusions from the archive of the Lviv Regional Bureau of Forensic Medicine for the period 2018-2023 was conducted. Results. The article provides quantitative indicators of cases of fatal poisoning, their prevalence trends, identifies the most common poisonous substances, and analyses mortality rates by age and sex. Conclusions. There is a downward trend in the total number of deaths due to poisoning. In 2023, the number of poisoning deaths will be almost halved compared to 2018. The most common poison is ethyl alcohol, 60% of people from the total number of poisonings, the second place in terms of number of deaths was carbon monoxide poisoning 21.5%, the third place was poisoning by narcotic substances 5.1%. Mortality due to poisoning in men is more than 5 times higher than in women, and men in their 40s and 50s die most often.