Common food preservative linked to increase in suicide deaths

A team of scientists has found that a widely used food preservative is increasingly linked to suicide deaths in the UK.

Suicides related to sodium nitrite (NaNO₂) are increasing in United Kingdomespecially among young people, which has sparked calls for regulation and better security measures.

According to , this preservative is proving to be a worrying factor in a growing number of deaths by suicide, particularly among young people.

In new, published last week in BJM Public Healthresearchers analyzed cases of last five years and identified a sharp increase in incidents involving sodium nitrite, raising questions about how easily it can be obtained and misused.

The product that was once considered a commonly used household or industrial chemical now plays a major role in preventable deaths.

Researchers analyzed case records submitted by coroners, forensic pathologists and police among March 2019 and August 2024. During this period, the laboratory processed 274 samples related to 201 cases suspected intentional or accidental poisonings in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Gibraltar.

The majority of cases were registered in the southeast of Englandalready Ireland and in Midlands. However, the researchers caution that this distribution may reflect differences in awareness about reporting cases rather than actual regional rates.

The number of cases increased sharply after 2019the first year that tests for nitrite and nitrate became available.

The final dataset included only cases approved by medical examiners, representing 82% of all cases received during the study period.

The average age of the individuals was 28 years. Ages varied between 14 and 74 years old among men and among 17 and 82 years old among women. Almost three quarters (71%) of cases involved younger groups, including Generation Z (33%born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Y (38%born between 1997 and 2012, although only counted until 2005 to separate minors, who represented 4% two cases).

Men represented the majority of cases, with 109 compared to 52 women. In almost all age groups, more than half of the cases involved men. The only exception was the older group (born between 1928 and 1945), which included a single case involving a woman.

Em 87% In most cases, blood nitrite and nitrate levels were about 100 times higher to normal physiological levels, which strongly suggests a intentional ingestion.

“It is likely that the cases included here represent a substantial underestimation of the true incidence. Second, the interval between death and receipt of samples varied considerablywhich raises the possibility that the delays may have affected the accuracy of biochemical measurements”, say the researchers.

Meanwhile, researchers suggest practical measures to reduce harm. Provide an antidote (methylthioninium chloride kits) in ambulances could offer “a simple, economical and timely method to prevent the devastating consequences of ingestion”, they explain.

“Our investigation reveals why urgent action is needed to regulate access to this chemical and for reduce the dissemination of harmful informationread about it on the Internet”, concludes the researcher.