Self-harm in older adults in hospital registry data: A consecutive 2-year study

Background: Self-harm is a high-risk behavior and often escalates to suicide. Among people who deliberately harm themselves, older people are more likely than younger people to die by suicide. Given that older adults are a  particularly high-risk group for suicide and self-harm is a powerful predictor of suicide in later life, understanding self-harm in older adults has potential value in generating strategies for the prevention of self-harm and suicide.  In this study, the basic characteristics of the elderly and self-harm methods were compared with those of young adults in a two-year data analysis. Method: We retrospectively reviewed records from January 2009 to December  2010 through the Register System of a hospital suicide prevention center. Subjects with repeated self-harm were excluded. 580 subjects were reviewed, including basic data, suicide method, possible causes, and medical  outcomes after self-harm behavior. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics and suicide methods between older and younger adults were analyzed using chi-square tests and Student’s t-tests. Statistical significance was  set at a level of p< 0.05. All data were analyzed with SPSS version 17.0. Results: Elderly adults were defined as older than 65 years. 580 subjects (elderly=96, 39 men and 57 women; young adults=484, 158 men and 326 women)  were collected. In the older adults group, the mean age was 70.4 years (SD=9.5). In the group of younger adults, the mean age was 35.2 years (SD=8.9). Regarding the method of suicide, hanging, burning charcoal, hypnotic overdose, and wrist cutting were statistically used more frequently in young adults than in the elderly. Older adults preferred to swallow herbicides or pesticides over young adults (p<0.001). In causes of suicide, older adults engaged in more self-harm behaviors due to medical illness. Conclusion: Older and young adults may choose their method of self-harm differently in terms of accessibility and causes. Strategies to prevent self-harm  behaviors among young and old adults may be different.