Factors associated with self-cutting as a method of self-harm: findings from the Irish National Registry of Deliberate Self-Harm.

BACKGROUND Research suggests that patients presenting to hospital with self-cutting differ from those with intentional overdose in demographic and clinical characteristics. However, large-scale national studies comparing self-cutting patients with those using other self-harm methods are lacking. We aimed to compare hospital-treated self-cutting and intentional overdose, to examine the role of gender in moderating these differences, and examine the characteristics and outcomes of those patients presenting with combined self-cutting and overdose. METHODS Between 2003 and 2010, the Irish National Registry of Deliberate Self-Harm recorded 42,585 self-harm presentations to Irish hospital emergency departments meeting the study inclusion criteria. Data were obtained on demographic and clinical characteristics by independent data registration officers. RESULTS Compared with overdose only, involvement of self-cutting (with or without overdose) was significantly more common in males than females, with an overrepresentation of males aged