The Epidemiology of Self-Harm in a UK-Wide Primary Care Patient Cohort, 2001–2013

BACKGROUND:

Most 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).

METHODS:

Using 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.

RESULTS:

We 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

Incorporating 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.

Below: Overall incidence and annual presentation rates. a Incidence. b Annual presentation rates

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/xfGSjq

By:  Carr MJ1, Ashcroft DM2,3, Kontopantelis E4,5, Awenat Y6, Cooper J7, Chew-Graham C8,9, Kapur N7, Webb RT7.

• 1Centre for Mental Health and Safety, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. matthew.carr@manchester.ac.uk.
• 2Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, Manchester Pharmacy School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
• 3NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, Manchester, UK.
• 4Centre for Health Informatics, Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, UK, Manchester, UK.
• 5NIHR School for Primary Care Research, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
• 6School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
• 7Centre for Mental Health and Safety, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
• 8Research Institute of Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, UK.
• 9Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Manchester, UK. 
• BMC Psychiatry. 2016 Feb 29;16(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12888-016-0753-5.

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