Deliberate Self Harm Cases Presented to the Emergency Unit of Al-Hussein General Teaching Hospital in Karbala/ Iraq

Abstract

Aim:To study the socio-demographic characteristics of deliberate self harm (DSH)of patients presented to the emergency unit of Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Karbala governorate in Iraq and to study the methods they used and inquiring about the cause.
Subject and Method: From the period (1st of May 2011) to (1st of January 2012) all patients with DSHwho were presented to the emergency unit of Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital were referred to a psychiatrist to assess them. We collected 113 patients.Registering the socio-demographic variables and the methods of use, patients then were assessed for the presence of a mental illness. Mental illness diagnosis was based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - IV (DSM-IV).Patients were also asked about their motives from the act.
Results:DSHwas more common in femalesthan in males in about four folds. The average age of patients was 24.68 years. DSH was more common in those with urban residency than those with rural residency in 3.3 folds. DSH was more common in the single, followed by the married, followed by the divorced. The two most common methods used were ingestion of drugs and ingestion of poisons.
DSH in males was found to be associated with mental illness more than in females, while DSH in females was found to be associated with family problems more than in males.
Conclusion:DSH is more common in young females. The most method used by both sexes was ingestion of drugs or poisons. Males got a tendency to use more violent methods except self-burning which is more common in females. DSH in males is more associated with a mental illness than in females. DSH in females is more associated with problems in the family. This goes well with previous studies that were done in our country.