A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine provides detailed insights on the increased risk of self-directed violence that patients aged 15-29 years visiting the emergency department (ED) for medical complaints subsequently experience. This underscores the importance of EDs in suicide prevention. The broad number of physical health conditions associated with an increased risk of self-directed violence may serve to support expanded or broader screening among teens and young adults.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth, with mental disorders and substance abuse as the two leading risk factors. Approximately 40 percent of suicide decedents aged 16 and older visit EDs in the year prior to their deaths; 60 percent of them receive medical diagnoses other than mental health or substance abuse.
"Young people presenting to the ED for certain medical conditions are at an increased risk of subsequent self-directed violence," explained lead investigator Jing Wang, MD, MPH, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA, in the study's findings. "An awareness of these medical encounters may help guide screening efforts for suicide prevention in clinical settings."
[For more on this study by Elsevier, go to https://medicalxpress.com/news...t-suicide-teens.html]
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