Means to an end: Characteristics and follow-up of emergency department patients with a history of suicide attempt via medication overdose

Availability and accessibility of a wide range of medications may be a contributing factor to rising medication-related overdose (OD) rates. Treatment for both suicide attempts (SAs) and ODs often occurs in the emergency department (ED), highlighting its potential as a screening and intervention point. The current study aimed to identify sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals who reported SA via medication OD compared to other methods and to examine how these patients' suicide severity and behaviors differed over 12-month post-ED follow-up. Data were analyzed from Phases 1 and 2 of the Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation multicenter study (N = 1376). Participants with a history of SA (n = 987) were categorized based on whether they indicated a past medication-related SA via OD. Of participants with history of SA, 62.7% (n = 619) reported medication OD for either their most serious or their most recent SA. Multivariate analyses indicated female birth sex, diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and having some college education were significantly associated with membership in the medication OD attempt group (p