Epidemiology and risk factors of pesticide poisoning in Malaysia: a retrospective analysis by the National Poison Centre (NPC) from 2006 to 2015.

OBJECTIVE

Pesticide poisoning is a global health problem, and its progressive deterioration is a major cause of concern. The objective of this study is to assess epidemiological characteristics and identify risk factors of pesticide poisoning in Malaysia.

SETTING

Pesticide poisoning database of Malaysia National Poison Centre (NPC) from 2006 to 2015.

PARTICIPANTS

Telephone enquiries regarding pesticide poisoning were made by healthcare professionals. Information received by the NPC was entered into a retrievable database of standardised Poison Case Report Form, as adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO).

OUTCOMES: The outcome of the study is to provide an overview of national epidemiological profile of pesticide poisoning. High-risk groups of people and their circumstances were also identified to ensure that appropriate measures are strategised.

RESULTS

Within the study period, a total of 11 087 pesticide poisoning cases were recorded. Sixty per cent of these cases were intentional in nature and most were found among male individuals (57%) of the Indian race (36.4%) aged between 20 and 29 years (25.5%), which occurred at home (90%) through the route of ingestion (94%). The highest number of poisoning was due to herbicides (44%) followed by agricultural insecticides (34%), rodenticides (9.9%), household insecticides (9.5%) and fungicides (0.5%). In addition, 93.6% of intentional pesticide poisoning cases were caused by suicide attempts. The results of this study show that there was an increasing trend in pesticide poisoning incidents over the 10-year duration. This indicates that pesticide poisoning is a prevalent public health problem in Malaysia, resulting in an average incidence rate of 3.8 per 100 000 population.

CONCLUSIONS

Deliberate pesticide ingestion as a method of suicide has become a disturbing trend among Malaysians. Therefore, regulation of highly hazardous pesticides must be enforced to ensure controlled and limited access to these chemicals by the public.