Site of stabbing, cutting factors in subsequent suicide risk

Among individuals who self-harm, those who present with cuts or stabs to the neck, in particular, are at greater risk of subsequent suicide, a study has found.

The analysis involved 31,419 individuals with 54,999 self-harm presentations. Researchers obtained information on method of self-harm through monitoring in hospitals. They also gathered information about mortality through linkage with NHS Digital.

There were 10,790 (19.6 percent) hospital presentations that involved self-cutting or stabbing. Of these, 7,489 episodes (69.4 percent) were due to laceration to the arm or wrist alone, 1,846 (17.1 percent) involved cutting elsewhere on the body, and 1,455 (13.5 percent) were due to laceration to unknown sites.

Multivariable analysis using mixed effect models revealed that presentation to a hospital following self-cut or stab to bodily parts other than wrist or arm conferred a greater likelihood of subsequent suicide as compared with presentation after self-poisoning alone (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.75, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.03–2.96; p=0.038).

Notably, the likelihood of subsequent suicide increased fourfold among individuals who presented with lacerations involving the neck relative to those who had self-poisoned alone (aOR, 4.09, 95 percent CI, 1.80–9.30; p=0.001).

There was no significant difference in the likelihood of subsequent suicide among individuals with cut or stab to the wrist or arm alone and those who had self-poisoned alone.