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A statewide comparison of non-fatal and fatal self-inflicted injury

Amy E. Donaldson, MS, Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, 8015855962, amy.donaldson@hsc.utah.edu, Lynne Fullerton, PhD, Center for Injury Prevention, Research, and Education, University of New Mexico, Department of Emergency Medicine, ACC 4-West, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5246, and Lenora M. Olson, MA, Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, University of Utah, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84108.

Introduction.  Suicide is a leading public health problem.  Data on attempted suicide can inform prevention efforts but are not universally available.  Methods.  We conducted an analysis of statewide emergency department (ED), hospital discharge (HDD), and death certificate data to describe and compare the risk factors associated with non-fatal and fatal self-inflicted injury.  Included in this study were all individuals having a self-inflicted injury record between the years of 1996 and 2000.  Death records were classified as fatal while non-fatal records were comprised of any ED or inpatient visits having a live discharge.  Frequencies and percentages were calculated for patient demographics and injury mechanism.  A chi-square analysis was performed to examine the association between these characteristics and the fatality of the injury.  Results and Discussion.  There were a total of 11,693 non-fatal injury visits to the ED and 5,702 inpatient visits with 1,514 suicides in the same time period.  All variable distributions differed significantly across the three groups of ED non-fatal; HDD non-fatal; and fatal (p<0.05).  While those completing suicide were predominantly male (82%) with the majority utilizing a firearm (57%), non-fatal self-inflicted injuries were in contrast predominantly female (62%) with a large percentage due to poisoning (73%).  The youngest age group (10-19 years) had a relatively high incidence of non-fatal self-inflicted injury but was at a significantly reduced risk of suicide.  Conclusion.  The information presented in this report provides a fuller understanding of both fatal and non-fatal self-inflicted injuries and can help in identifying populations at increased risk for suicide.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Suicide Studies

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA