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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2005) 187: 470-475
© 2005 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Mortality and suicide after non-fatal self-poisoning: 16-year outcome study

DAVID OWENS, MD and CHRISTOPHER WOOD, MSc

Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Leeds

DARREN C. GREENWOOD, MSc

Biostatistics Unit, School of Medicine, University of Leeds

TOM HUGHES, MD

Leeds Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust

MICHAEL DENNIS, MD

Department of Psychiatry, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

Correspondence: Dr David Owens, Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Leeds School of Medicine, 15 Hyde Terrace, Leeds LS2 9LT, UK. E-mail: d.w.owens{at}leeds.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Suicide reduction is government strategy in many countries. We need to quantify the connection between non-fatal self-poisoning and eventual suicide.

Aims To determine mortality after an episode of self-poisoning and to identify predictors of death by any cause or by suicide.

Method A retrospective single-group cohort study was undertaken with 976 consecutive patients attending a large accident and emergency unit in 1985–1986 after non-fatal self-poisoning. Information about deaths was determined from the Office for National Statistics.

Results Of the original patients, 94% were traced 16 years later; 17% had died, 3.5% by probable suicide. Subsequent suicide was related to numerous factors evident at the time of the episode of self-poisoning but, when examined for their independent effects, only the severity of the self-poisoning episode and relevant previous history seemed important.

Conclusions Patients attending a general hospital after self-poisoning all require good basic assessment and care responsive to their needs. Attempts to reduce the huge excess of suicide subsequentto self-harm are not likely to achieve much if they are based on the identification of subgroups through‘risk assessment’.


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