title: Profile of Hospital Admissions due to Self-Inflicted Harm in Los Angeles County from 2001 to 2010.
abstract: We aimed to describe the demographic profile of self-inflicted harm (SIH) in Los Angeles County between 2001 and 2010 and to investigate trends over this 10-year period. We used the California Hospital Discharge Data to investigate all cases of hospital admission due to SIH, including suicide attempts and if they had a concurrent psychiatric diagnosis based on ICD-9 codes. African-Americans (AA) had the highest 10-year SIH admission rates. SIH admission rates remained steady throughout the 10-year study period. Median age of SIH was significantly lower in Latinos. Episodic mood disorders were the most common psychiatric comorbidity. The use of solid/liquid poisoning was the most common SIH method among all racial/ethnic groups. We found major disparities in SIH admissions across racial/ethnic subgroups. The importance of programs to identify, prevent, and treat SIH in these groups is discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA.|David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bazargan-Hejazi
authors.affiliation: Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA.|David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bazargan
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rahmani
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Deyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Irvine, CA.
authors.forename: Golara
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zahmatkesh
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA.|David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teruya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: forensic science; hospital admission; self-inflicted harm behavior/epidemiology; self-inflicted harm/racial group; solid/liquid poisoning; substance abuse