title: Cutaneous deliberate self-harm in Polish school teenagers - an inter-disciplinary challenge.
abstract: Self-harm of the skin is a complex problem encountered mainly in adolescents and young adults. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of deliberate cutaneous self-harm without suicidal intent among secondary school teenagers of the Lodz region. A self-administered specially designed anonymous questionnaire was delivered to 1,448 secondary school teenagers, aged 12-19 years. The lifetime prevalence of self-reported deliberate self-harm was 19.5%, out of which 14.4% confirmed isolated cutaneous self-injury (self-cutting in the vast majority of cases), 1.7% ingested a substance or drug in excessive amounts and 3.5% declared both behaviours. Our results indicate that skin is the organ most commonly involved in deliberate self-harm. Dermatologists, especially those focussed on dermatosurgery and aesthetic dermatology, should understand the special issues relating to such patients before taking decisions concerning performing any procedures on these individuals, since deliberate self-harm has been recognised as one of the main risk factors of suicide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Chair of Psychiatry, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gmitrowicz
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kostulski
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kropiwnicki
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zalewska-Janowska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult