Citation

Hall DJ, O'Brien F, Stark C, Pelosi A, Smith H. Br. J. Psychiatry 1998; 172: 239-242.

Affiliation

Crichton Royal Hospital, Dumfries.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9614473

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We describe a national cohort of individuals surviving an episode of deliberate self-harm (DSH). Subsequent admissions for DSH and mortality over the following 13 years were studied. METHOD: In 1981, 8304 individuals were discharged from Scottish general hospitals with a diagnosis of attempted suicide (E950-959). They were followed-up to the end of 1994 using the Scottish Linked Data Set. Mortality was compared to the Scottish population using person-years analysis. RESULTS: 2624 people (31.6%) were readmitted with further episodes of DSH. The median number of readmissions was 1, range 1-137. The observed:expected ratio for all-cause mortality was 2.26 (95% CI 2.13-2.26). One hundred and sixty-eight people (2%) died from suicide, and 46 (0.6%) from undetermined causes. The observed:expected ratio for suicide plus undetermined deaths was 12.17 (95% CI 10.64-13.91). Accidental deaths in men and homicide deaths in men and women were elevated. The pattern of deaths from other causes suggested that alcohol misuse was a contributory factor. CONCLUSIONS: People admitted to general hospitals in Scotland after attempted suicide are at high risk of readmission for further episodes of DSH. Long-term follow-up of such large cohorts is impractical, but services should review the scope for intervention in alcohol misuse following DSH.

Language: en