The prevalence of previous self-harm amongst self-poisoning patients in Sri Lanka.
BACKGROUND
One of the most important components of suicide prevention strategies is to target people who repeat self-harm as they are a high risk group. However, there is some evidence that the incidence of repeat self-harm is lower in Asia than in the West. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of previous self-harm among a consecutive series of self-harm patients presenting to hospitals in rural Sri Lanka.


METHODS
Six hundred and ninety-eight self-poisoning patients presenting to medical wards at two hospitals in Sri Lanka were interviewed about their previous episodes of self-harm.


RESULTS
Sixty-one (8.7%, 95% CI 6.7-11%) patients reported at least one previous episode of self-harm [37 (10.7%) male, 24 (6.8%) female]; only 19 (2.7%, 95% CI 1.6-4.2%) patients had made more than one previous attempt.


CONCLUSIONS
The low prevalence of previous self-harm is consistent with previous Asian research and is considerably lower than that seen in the West. Explanations for these low levels of repeat self-harm require investigation. Our data indicate that a focus on the aftercare of those who attempt suicide in Sri Lanka may have a smaller impact on suicide incidence than may be possible in the West.
Mohamed
Fahim
F
South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. fahim@sactrc.org
Perera
Aravinda
A
Wijayaweera
Kusal
K
Kularatne
Keerthi
K
Jayamanne
Shaluka
S
Eddleston
Michael
M
Dawson
Andrew
A
Konradsen
Flemming
F
Gunnell
David
D
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D000092864:Suicide Prevention