Suicide risk 80 times higher for those previously hospitalised for self-harm
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Risk of suicide is more than 80 times higher for people previously hospitalised for self-harming than it is for the general population, according to an Irish study.
The research said the risk is greatest in the days and weeks following release from hospital and stressed the importance of safety plans and after care.
The study was led by the National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork and the School of Public Health in UCC, assisted by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention and academics in Australia.
The research was published in the journal and made available by the Health Research Board.
It conducted a follow-up study on almost 23,800 people recorded on the National Self-Harm Registry Ireland between January 2015 and December 2017.
That registry was linked with national suicide records via the Irish Probable Suicide Deaths Study, with the typical follow-up time period being one and a half years, but as long as three years.
More than a third of those on the self-harm registry were under the age of 25 and six out of t10 presented with a drug overdose only and three out of 10 had consumed alcohol.
In the follow up study, some 217 people (0.91%) had died by suicide.
“Risk of suicide was greatest in the days and weeks following the most recent presentation to hospital with self-harm, with 84 (38.7%) of the suicides occurring the first month, decreasing to 10.6% (23) in the second month and 8.3% (18) in the third month,” the study said.
It said women in the self-harm group were “nearly 140 times” more likely to die by suicide within 12 months than the general population, with men 70 times more likely to die by suicide.
The report said risk of suicide following self-harm was “most elevated” among the youngest and oldest age groups — those aged under 25 and those aged over 55.
It said attempted hanging or self-cutting signalled elevated suicide risk compared with intentional drug overdose. It said suicide by hanging was more common for men, while suicide by poisoning was more common among women.
The authors said the findings that the risk was greatest in the period shortly after being in hospital for self-harm underline the “importance of appropriate safety planning and timely follow up and referral”.
The research concluded that “prediction of suicide-risk remains very difficult” and that all patients should receive appropriate after-care to reduce mortality.
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