Citation

Bazargan-Hejazi S, Ahmadi A, Bazargan M, Rahmani E, Pan D, Zahmatkesh G, Teruya S. J. Forensic Sci. 2017; 62(5): 1244-1250.

Affiliation

David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13416

PMID

28120509

Abstract

We aimed to describe the demographic profile of self-inflicted harm (SIH) in Los Angeles County between 2001 and 2010 and to investigate trends over this 10-year period. We used the California Hospital Discharge Data to investigate all cases of hospital admission due to SIH, including suicide attempts and if they had a concurrent psychiatric diagnosis based on ICD-9 codes. African-Americans (AA) had the highest 10-year SIH admission rates. SIH admission rates remained steady throughout the 10-year study period. Median age of SIH was significantly lower in Latinos. Episodic mood disorders were the most common psychiatric comorbidity. The use of solid/liquid poisoning was the most common SIH method among all racial/ethnic groups. We found major disparities in SIH admissions across racial/ethnic subgroups. The importance of programs to identify, prevent, and treat SIH in these groups is discussed.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

forensic science; hospital admission; self-inflicted harm behavior/epidemiology; self-inflicted harm/racial group; solid/liquid poisoning; substance abuse