The epidemiology of self-harm in a UK-wide primary care patient cohort, 2001–2013

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Evangelos Kontopantelis¹  Matthew J. Carr²  Jayne Cooper²  Roger T. Webb²  Nav Kapur²  Darren M. Ashcroft³  Carolyn Chew-Graham⁴  Yvonne Awenat⁵ 

[1] Centre for Health Informatics, Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, UK, Manchester, UK;NIHR School for Primary Care Research, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;Centre for Mental Health and Safety, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK;Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, Manchester Pharmacy School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, Manchester, UK;Research Institute of Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, UK;Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Manchester, UK;School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;

关键词: Self-harm;    Attempted suicide;    Primary health care;    Socioeconomic status;    Epidemiology;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-016-0753-5

 received in 2015-07-02, accepted in 2016-02-16,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMost of the research conducted on people who harm themselves has been undertaken in secondary healthcare settings. Little is known about the frequency of self-harm in primary care patient populations. This is the first study to describe the epidemiology of self-harm presentations to primary care using broadly representative national data from across the United Kingdom (UK).MethodsUsing the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), we calculated directly standardised rates of incidence and annual presentation during 2001–2013. Rates were compared by gender and age and across the nations of the UK, and also by degree of socioeconomic deprivation measured ecologically at general practice level.ResultsWe found significantly elevated rates in females vs. males for incidence (rate ratio - RR, 1.45, 95 % confidence interval - CI, 1.42-1.47) and for annual presentation (RR 1.56, CI 1.54–1.58). An increasing trend over time in incidence was apparent for males (P < 0.001) but not females (P = 0.08), and both genders exhibited rising temporal trends in presentation rates (P < 0.001). We observed a decreasing gradient of risk with increasing age and markedly elevated risk for females in the youngest age group (aged 15–24 years vs. all other females: RR 3.75, CI 3.67–3.83). Increasing presentation rates over time were observed for males across all age bands (P < 0.001). We found higher rates when comparing Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales with England, and increasing rates of presentation over time for all four nations. We also observed higher rates with increasing levels of deprivation - most vs. least deprived male patients: RR 2.17, CI 2.10–2.25.ConclusionsIncorporating data from primary care yields a more comprehensive quantification of the health burden of self-harm. These novel findings may be useful in informing public health programmes and the targeting of high-risk groups toward the ultimate goal of lowering risk of self-harm repetition and premature death in this population.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Carr et al. 2016