Citation

Jibran M. J. gen. med. 2012; 1(1): 1-2.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Asfandyar Khan Niazi)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the association of sociodemographic characteristics with self-inflicted injuries in the elderly population (aged 60 or older). A sample size of 490 patients was selected for this study. Patients presenting with self-inflicted that fell in the age bracket were included in the study. All patients went through an extensive psychiatric evaluation. The gender, educational level, financial status, marital status, previous psychiatric history, chronic diseases, and dependence status were taken into account. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. The patients that died as a result of the self-inflicted injury were not included because the psychiatric evaluation could not be performed. Of the 490 patients included in this study, 172 (35%) were females while 318 (65%) were males. The mean age of the patients was 69 years. There was a history of previous self-reported self-inflicted injuries in 69 (14%) patients. The prevalence of chronic illnesses in this group was seen in 284 (58%) patients. The most common diseases were the ones most commonly prevalent in the society; diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and cardiac diseases. No specific pattern could be established since many patients had multiple diseases and others had undiagnosed chronic diseases. Most of these patients - 345 (70%) - were 65-70 years old. The most common psychiatric diseases in these patients were depression and schizophrenia. 9% of these patients had no education; 14% had primary school education; 39% had middle school education; 11% had high school education; whereas 27% had college education. Regarding the marital status, 29% were married, 36% were widows or widowers, and 35% were either divorced or separated. Other factors associated with a higher risk of self- inflicted injuries were a low financial status and being financially dependent on other people (including old age homes).
Many of the previous studies on self- inflicted injuries have been conducted on adolescents and younger individuals. However given the fact that older individuals form an ever increasing part of our societies, greater attention should be paid to the pattern of self-inflicted injuries in older individuals. There is a need to enhance old age care in our society and regular psychiatric evaluations should be performed for any individual at risk of these injuries.

Language: en