Suicidal attempts admitted to a general hospital in the Western Galilee: an inter-ethnic comparison study.
BACKGROUND
Deliberate self-harm is a relatively frequent cause of consultation in the emergency room of general hospitals. Despite its importance, few epidemiological studies of self-injury in Israel have been carried out, and of these, they mostly covered selected population groups.


OBJECTIVE
To provide epidemiological data on self-harm in patients examined in the emergency room of a general hospital in the Western Galilee, with special emphasis on differential sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the Arab and Jewish subjects.


METHODS
Demographic, clinical, and self-harm characteristics were extracted from hospital files for people aged 18 years and older admitted to the general hospital in Nahariya, Western Galilee, over a 24-month period (January 1996 to December 1997) following a suicidal attempt. Chi-square statistics, two-tailed t-tests, and logistic regression analyses were used to test the significance of inter-ethnic differences in risk factors.


RESULTS
The overall incidence rate of suicidal attempts was 16.7 per 100,000 population of Northern District in 1996 (Arabs, 24.4 and Jews, 11.0); or 37.6 per 10,000 admissions (Arabs, 44.2 and Jews, 30.3). Among the Jewish male subjects, attempts rose markedly after the age of 40, while among their Arab counterparts the age distribution was even throughout all age groups. Among Jewish females, admissions for self-harm rose gradually with age, while among the Arab women there was a peak at the 20-29 year age group. Both ethnic groups differed significantly in their sociodemographic and clinical profiles, but they shared common characteristics with regard to the attempt.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest differential ethnic patterns of risk factors for self-harm. Further in-depth investigation of deliberate self-harm is warranted to better explore these factors.
Ashkar
Khalid
K
Department of Family Medicine, Technion, Clalit Health Services, Haifa and Western Galilee District, Israel.
Giloni
Carlos
C
Grinshpoon
Alexander
A
Geraisy
Nabil
N
Gruner
Eli
E
Cohen
Rami
R
Paryente
Oshra
O
Nassar
Faris
F
Ponizovsky
Alexander M
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003710:Demography; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data