Introduction: An increased incidence of suicides and suicidal behaviour among immigrants has been described in other countries. In Denmark, misuse of paracetamol is suspected in some foreign-born minority groups, although no data have been produced to substantiate this suspicion. Materials and methods: A retrospective study of the incidence of paracetamol poisoning in patients admitted to a specialised department of hepatology from 1994 to 1999 was carried out. Results: Of a total of 580 patients, 56 (9.7%) were immigrants, among whom a significant overrepresentation was found of immigrants from Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Lebanon (observed/expected ratios of 1.95, 4.14, 2.67, and 2.45 respectively). The immigrants differed from the Danish-born patients in that they were younger (21 vs 35 years of age), had a lower level of alcohol consumption (3% vs 30% with regular alcohol abuse), and were in general less severely intoxicated (3% vs 22% developing hepatic encephalopathy). Compared to the Danish-born patients, the immigrants more frequently stated socio-economic problems as the reason for their serf-poisoning (29% vs 10%). Discussion: The study demonstrates an overrepresentation of immigrants among patients admitted with paracetamol poisoning in Denmark.

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immigrant refugee psychological aspect alcohol consumption human Refugees middle aged suicide attempt statistics Denmark intoxication comparative study Aged Suicide, Attempted Humans Adolescent male female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics Article Retrospective Studies suicidal behavior major clinical study adult migration Emigration and Immigration drug misuse retrospective study Acetaminophen analgesic agent paracetamol Analgesics, Non-Narcotic