Current issues of food and chemical safety of children and adolescents: acute household poisoning

Abstract

Ukraine is among the countries with a high prevalence of acute chemical etiology poisoning in the countries of the European region, taking the penultimate place according to WHO (2017). The Aim of the Research. To study the risk factors for acute domestic poisoning among children and adolescents in Ukraine and to identify measures to improve it. Methods and Materials. The annual statistical reports of WHO, the data of the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, the Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, and statistics of the Department of acute poisoning of the NCSH «Okhmatdyt» were analyzed. Research methods: system approach and benchmarking were applied. Results and Discussion. A comparative estimate of the incidence of acute poisoning over the last 15 years in Ukraine indicates an overall tendency for their growth as a whole: in the group of children 0–14 years, an average of 10.4% (from 13.8 ± 0.05 cases / 10000 in 1996–1998 to 15.4 ± 0.1 cases / 10000 pediatric population in 2006–2010). Among children aged 0–4 years, the rate of increase in the number of acute poisonings was the highest, i.e. it increased from 31.7 ± 0.1 to 37.1 ± 0.2 cases / 10000 of the pediatric population of this age. The incidence of primary diseases of the pediatric population, according to the data of the Injury and Poisoning statistical group, has been practically at the same level in recent years, with a slight upward trend. Thus, over the last 20 years the incidence has fluctuated within 39.6–51.4 cases / 10000 population. Conclusions. An important factor in the emergence of household poisoning is the lack of motivation of the population, including children and adolescents, to lead a healthy lifestyle (including maintaining a healthy diet). Key Words: chemical safety, food safety, toxicology, acute poisoning.