Psychiatric Disorder and Life-event in Self Harm: A Cross-sectional Study Among Clinical Population in Bangladesh

Background: Mental illness is an important risk factor for self-harm behavior. However, the association between self-harm behavior and psychiatric disorders has been poorly studied in Bangladesh.

Aims: To determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and life-events among patients with a self harm behavior.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2022 and November 2023. We collected data from 100 patients with self harms from two tertiary care hospital of Dhaka by semi-structured interviews.

Results: Of the 100 cases, 72 were females, 63 % came from semi-urban background. Hanging was the commonest method (31 %) followed cutting and piercing instrument (22 %), and ingestion of Benzodiazepines (20 %). Among the cases, 71 % had at least one psychiatric disorder (Axis I 49 % and Axis II 35 %). In case of life events, 52 % had life-events within immediate 48 h, 15 % in the last one month and 17 % in the last year. Family conflict (30 %) was the commonest risk factor and increased argument with resident family members (38 %) was the commonest life event.

Conclusions: This study revealed a similar proportion of psychiatric disorders revealed in previous studies among suicide attempts. It also unveiled life events in suicide attempts indicating a potential role of life events in suicide attempts in Bangladesh. However, a prudential interpretation is warranted while considering the study results as it was conducted among clinical samples.