| Title |
Suicide patterns in children and adolescents: a review from a pediatric institution in England
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, March 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s12024-017-9860-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Khairul Zainum, Marta C. Cohen |
| Abstract |
Suicide is a catastrophic event to both families and communities yet it is potentially preventable. This study aims to determine incidence and patterns of suicide in children and young adolescents in our region, raise awareness of this entity as a potentially preventable cause of death in this age group, and identify its possible associated risk factors. We retrospectively reviewed suicide cases presenting as sudden unexpected death in children and adolescents that underwent coronial post-mortems at our institution. This is the largest pathological review of completed suicide in children and young adolescents within a single institution in the United Kingdom. We identified 23 suicide cases during a 12 year period from 2003 to 2015, in which 18 cases (78%) were male and 5 cases (22%) were female. The age range was from 8 to 16 years (mean age 12.82 +/- 2.52 SD). With the exception of one case, all of the victims were Caucasian. The majority, 19 cases (81%), were found dead inside their place of residence, 15 of whom were discovered in their own bedrooms. Twenty-one cases (91%) died from neck compression due to hanging; 6 cases (26%) had used the cord of a dressing gown and 5 (22%) opted to use a belt as the ligature. Two cases (9%) that died from multiple-drug toxicity were female. In 7 cases (30.5%) there was evidence of self-harm and in 3 cases (13%) there was a history of previous suicide attempts. Petechial hemorrhages were found at autopsy in more than half of hanging victims and only three cases (14%) displayed dual distribution of post-mortem hypostasis (back and legs). Seven victims (30.5%) left some form of suicide message to family members and friends, 2 of which wrote the message on their arm. Parental separation, conflict with parents, and depression, were common amongst decedents prior to committing suicide. Substance abuse was uncommon in suicide within our cases. Valuable information is available from thorough review of suicide data in children and young adolescents from a single institution. Pathologists and clinicians can play crucial roles in identifying potential risk factors that may contribute to prevent future deaths. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 50% |
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 134 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 134 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 19 | 14% |
| Other | 14 | 10% |
| Student > Master | 13 | 10% |
| Researcher | 8 | 6% |
| Lecturer | 6 | 4% |
| Other | 26 | 19% |
| Unknown | 48 | 36% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 26 | 19% |
| Psychology | 18 | 13% |
| Social Sciences | 10 | 7% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 5% |
| Linguistics | 5 | 4% |
| Other | 18 | 13% |
| Unknown | 50 | 37% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 March 2017.
All research outputs
#15,270,937
of 24,217,893 outputs
Outputs from Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
#309
of 1,014 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#177,604
of 312,478 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
#5
of 26 outputs
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We're also able to compare this research output to 26 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.