This study aims to analyze demographic, clinical, and biochemical markers of geriatric individuals admitted to emergency clinics due to poisoning to develop preventive public health projects for poisoning prevention. This study was a two-center study. Patients were categorized into accidental, suicide, and misuse groups, and the patient’s clinical and laboratory data were compared. The study included individuals aged 65 and over admitted to hospital emergencies between June 1, 2021, and June 1, 2023. The mean age of the patients admitted with poisoning was 71.7±6.3 years, and the median was 70 (65-90). 69.2% (n=27) of the patients were female, and 30.8% (n=12) were male. Common causes included misuse and suicidal poisoning, drug ingestion, corrosive substance exposure, and pesticide poisoning, Antidepressants and analgesic drugs were the most common agents. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean age rank scores of patients categorized into 3 groups: accidental, suicidal, and misuse (H(3):11.186, p=0.004). The risk of being elderly in accidental poisoning and abuse (non-suicide) patients was 1.203 times that of suicide patients. In other words, it was 20% higher (odds ratio=1.203, CI 95% [1.001-1.446], p=0.049). The mean rank score of troponin values differed significantly between the groups (p=0.027). The study highlights the high rate of poisoning among the elderly, especially women, and suggests preventive public health projects, increased public awareness, and strengthened health policies to improve their quality of life.
Key words: Aged, biomarkers, drug misuse, poisoning, public health, suicide, attempted
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