Self-Inflicted Injuries Surge Among Tween & Early Teen Girls

By Susan Scutti, CNN (CNN) — Emergency room visits for non-fatal, self-inflicted injuries surged in recent years among US girls and young women, especially those between the ages of 10 and 14, according to a new study. However, rates of self-harm among boys and young men between the ages of 10 and 24 remained stable throughout the years 2001 through 2015, the researchers said. “Suicide is preventable,” said Melissa C. Mercado, lead author of the study published Tuesday in JAMA and a behavioral scientist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “These findings underscore the need for the implementation of evidence-based, comprehensive suicide- and self-harm-prevention strategies.” Suicidal vs. non-suicidal injuries Young people have higher rates of nonfatal self-inflicted injuries, according to Mercado. She and her co-authors looked at first-time nonfatal injury visits among people 10 to 24 years old at 66 hospital emergency rooms from 2001 through 2015. “The data used for this study did not allow for the distinction between suicidal and non-suicidal intent of the self-inflicted injuries,” Mercado wrote in an email. A total of 43,138 ER visits for self-inflicted injury were reported at those hospitals during the study period for kids, teens and young adults, the researchers found, and they used mathematical adjustments to estimate national rates. The study does not include firearm injuries, hangings, “recreational...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News CNN Suicide Source Type: news