A new study shows that poor physical health can sometimes lead older people to self-harm.

Most research on suicide and self-harm has, to date, involved younger age groups. But older people may also be driven to injure themselves, often with suicidal intent. A team at the University of Leicester, UK, has now studied three groups of older people, in the hope of learning the risk factors that lead to self-harm.

They looked at a group who had killed themselves, another who had harmed themselves, and compared these to a control group who were suffering from depression. The study showed that those who harmed themselves were commonly, but not invariably, depressed. Many had poor physical health and little support from health or social services. And many older people who killed themselves had had a recent admission to hospital.

These findings suggest that it's important that depression is diagnosed and treated in hospital, and that levels of social support to vulnerable older people should be increased.

Source

Research into Ageing December 13 2001