Insulin-Related Suicides—3 Cases

Insulin is a pancreas-produced hormone, which is essential for normal life. In persons with diabetes, who lack sufficient production of endogenous insulin, the availability of exogenously-produced and administered insulin represents an extremely valuable, life-preserving medical advancement. Unfortunately, as with many other medications, overdosage with insulin can and does occur, sometimes in an intentional suicidal manner. Another possible insulin-related suicidal action involves the intentional cessation of insulin therapy by someone who relies on insulin for survival. In this case series, we present 3 cases of insulin-related suicides, including two related to intentional insulin overdose and one where a known diabetic purposefully stopped taking insulin in order to commit suicide.