Do geographic regions with higher suicide rates also have higher rates of nonfatal intentional self-harm?
Fatal and nonfatal intentional self-harm events in eight U.S. states were compared using emergency department, hospital, and vital statistics data. Nonfatal event rates increased by an estimated 24.20% over 6 years. Case fatality ratios varied widely, but two northeastern states' total event rates (fatal plus nonfatal) were very high (New Hampshire 206.5/100,000 person years; Massachusetts 166.7/100,000). Geographic context did not uniformly impact the likelihood of self-harm across event types. The state-level public health burden posed by such acts cannot, therefore, be accurately estimated from either mortality or morbidity data alone.
Claassen
Cynthia A
CA
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235-9119, USA. Cindy.Claassen@UTSouthwestern.edu
Carmody
Thomas
T
Bossarte
Robert
R
Trivedi
Madhukar H
MH
Elliott
Stephen
S
Currier
Glenn W
GW
D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D033182:Intention; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology