An increasing number of young people in Newfoundland and Labrador are being admitted to hospital because they poisoned themselves by taking too many over the counter or prescription drugs.

Between 2008 and 2013, 158 children or teens were admitted to the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's because of self-poisoning, according to a study published in Paediatrics & Child Health in December.

"A significant number were intending to kill themselves, and we've learned from larger studies that in long-term follow up these children and teens are at much higher risk of suicide," said Dr. Leigh Anne Newhook, study author and pediatrician at the hospital.

Dr. Leigh Anne Newhook is a author of a study which looked at how many children and adolescents are hospitalized at the Janeway Hospital because they took too many over the counter or prescription drugs. (CBC)

"We wanted to confirm what we were seeing in the inpatient unit, that the numbers of cases were high and that they were increasing," Newhook told CBC Radio's On The Go on Thursday.

The number of admissions for what health-care providers call self-poisoning increased from 2.1 per cent of total hospital admissions in 2008 to 6.5 per cent in 2013.

The scope of the study only included cases that resulted in hospital admission, which meant it provided just a slice of the potential number of self-poisonings in children in Newfoundland and Labrador, Newhook said.

"This may be the tip of the iceberg because if it was a mild ingestion they may have been seen in the emergency department and then discharged home," she said.

"So we really don't know what the true numbers are of children and teens who are doing this."

Over-the-counter drugs most common

Many of the self-poisonings resulted from medications that children and teenagers can easily access.

The most common were over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen (Advil) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) at 38 per cent. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications were the second most common at 32.2 per cent.

"The most common medications were things that most people would have in their cupboards at home," Newhook said.

"They can be quite serious to the person if they're taken in high enough doses." Too much Tylenol, for example, can lead to liver failure.

Self-poisonings amount to 6.5 per cent of admissions in 2013, triple what it was five years before that. (CBC)

Nearly half of the admitted patients had ingested more than one drug and 14 per cent of the patients were admitted to intensive care, though none died, Newhook said.

Also, the study showed that 78.2 per cent of the patients admitted to the Janeway for self-poisoning were female. This lines up with other research and data indicating that girls are more likely to attempt overdose as a means of suicide attempt or self harm, Newhook said.

Help to reduce teen suicide risk

While the patient intentions weren't always clear because the cases were looked at retroactively, many of the self-poisonings were intended to cause harm or death, Newhook said.

A significant number were intending to kill themselves. - Dr. Leigh Anne Newhook

She said while none of the patients in this study died, it would be valuable to do a longer-term look to check for repeated self-poisonings and deaths.

One Ontario study that looked at 20,000 teenagers treated for self-poisoning found that over a 10-year period, a significant number of patients did die, she said.

The Janeway researchers also found that 37.8 per cent of the admissions were repeat admissions, and more than 80 per cent of the patients had at least one previous mental health diagnosis, usually depression or anxiety.

The results highlighted the importance of follow up with these cases, and support for the children and their parents, Newhook said. For example, parents should be advised on reducing the risk of suicide by putting potentially harmful drugs out of reach and locking up firearms, or removing them from the home.

"If it happens once we should be able to do something in most cases to prevent it from happening again," Newhook said. "Future research will help us figure out how we can prevent it from happening in the first place, and that's going to be even trickier."