One in three patients who visit the emergency room for poisoning are in their teens or twenties. The number of patients poisoned by pharmaceuticals is increasing. According to the data released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 31st, 33.3% of the 13,195 patients who visited the emergency room for poisoning from 2016 to 2018 were in their 10s or 20s. By age, patients in their 40s accounted for 24.8%, followed by 22.8% in their 30s, 12.4% in their 50s, 4.8% in their 60s, and 2.1% in their 70s. The number of poisoning cases was 4,384 in 2016, 4,363 in 2017, and 4,448 in 2018, showing an increasing trend. The most common causes of poisoning were alcohol at 44.1%, followed by pharmaceuticals at 19.3%, and pesticides at 7.9%. The number of pharmaceutical poisoning cases was 818 in 2016, 830 in 2017, and 957 in 2018, showing an increasing trend. The most common drugs that cause poisoning were antipsychotic drugs, accounting for 21.1%, followed by antidepressants at 15.8%, and sedatives at 13.2%. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed that "the number of poisoning cases due to pharmaceuticals is increasing, and the number of patients in their teens and twenties is high."

In South Korea, a recent report titled '2025 Injury Type and Cause Statistics' was released by the Disease Control and Prevention Agency, detailing the recent trends in accidents and overdoses that led patients to seek emergency room treatment. A significant finding from this study is that the proportion of patients aged 10 to 20 years seeking emergency room care due to substance abuse has doubled over the past decade.

This is in stark contrast to the decreasing proportion of patients affected by gas or pesticide poisoning.

The investigation, conducted on 29 hospitals over the past year, analyzed 98,615 injured patients who had sought treatment at emergency rooms. Among these patients, 6,816 (6.9%) had sought emergency care due to an overdose. Notably, 69.4% of these individuals had intentionally consumed the substance, indicating that many of these cases are cases of self-poisoning.

Age-wise, the 20 age group accounted for the highest proportion at 18.1%, followed by the 10 age group at 15.8%. Crucially, the 10-20 age group now represents 33.9% of all overdose cases, a nearly two-fold increase from the 16.9% recorded in 2015. The trend is particularly pronounced in the 10 age group, which went from 5.6% in 2015 to a significant jump to 15.8% in 2025.

The types of substances causing these overdoses have also evolved. The proportion of patients treated for overdoses due to prescribed medication (also known as 'therapeutic drugs') rose sharply from 44.9% in 2015 to 66.7% in 2025. In contrast, the percentages for gas (20.6% to 11.5%) and pesticide (16% to 9.4%) poisoning have decreased.

The leading cause of injuries was falls or trips, accounting for 40% of all cases. This was followed by accidents (15.5%), external forces causing damage (14.8%), and other forms of harm. Among falls, children under 10 years old accounted for the highest proportion, with 45.4% of falls resulting in injuries to those under 10. However, it's important to note that children under 10 had a lower admission rate (8.9%) compared to other age groups.

The age group with the highest number of admission and mortality rates due to falls was the 60 age group, with 24.5% and 19.4% of fall-related admissions and deaths respectively. This suggests that older individuals, especially those over 60, are at a higher risk of severe injuries from falls. Falls in the home accounted for 60.2% of all fall-related incidents, while falls among the elderly were most common in homes, with 45.3% of falls occurring in residential areas.