Poisonings constitute a serious health problem in Norway. The objective of the study was to analyse cases of poisoning reported to out-of-hours services and any changes that may have occurred over a ten-year period.
The material consists of reimbursement claims from all doctors on out-of-hours duty in Norway in the period 2006???15. Poisonings were defined as ICPC diagnostic codes A84 (poisoning by medical agent), A86 (toxic effect non-medicinal substance) or P16 (acute alcohol abuse).
The contact rate due to poisonings increased from 221 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2006 to 297 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2015. For the age group 1???2 years, the contact rate per 100 000 inhabitants dropped from 469 to 223, for the age group 15???25 it rose from 523 to 719, and for the age group 53???59 it rose from 178 to 339. The highest contact rate was found among women aged 15???25 (785 per 100 000 inhabitants). This group also had the highest contact rate caused by poisoning by a medical agent (238 per 100 000 inhabitants). In the age group 15???25 years, altogether 63% of the poisonings occurred during the night.
The frequency of contact with out-of-hours services because of poisoning is generally increasing, although a strong decline is observed among small children. Adolescents, and young women in particular, stand out in suffering frequent cases of poisoning.