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BMC Medicine
Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2022

01-12-2022 | Autism Spectrum Disorder | Research article

Autism spectrum disorders as a risk factor for adolescent self-harm: a retrospective cohort study of 113,286 young people in the UK

Authors: Emily Widnall, Sophie Epstein, Catherine Polling, Sumithra Velupillai, Amelia Jewell, Rina Dutta, Emily Simonoff, Robert Stewart, Ruth Gilbert, Tamsin Ford, Matthew Hotopf, Richard D. Hayes, Johnny Downs

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at particularly high risk of suicide and suicide attempts. Presentation to a hospital with self-harm is one of the strongest risk factors for later suicide. We describe the use of a novel data linkage between routinely collected education data and child and adolescent mental health data to examine whether adolescents with ASD are at higher risk than the general population of presenting to emergency care with self-harm.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted on the population aged 11–17 resident in four South London boroughs between January 2009 and March 2013, attending state secondary schools, identified in the National Pupil Database (NPD). Exposure data on ASD status were derived from the NPD. We used Cox regression to model time to first self-harm presentation to the Emergency Department (ED).

Results

One thousand twenty adolescents presented to the ED with self-harm, and 763 matched to the NPD. The sample for analysis included 113,286 adolescents (2.2% with ASD). For boys only, there was an increased risk of self-harm associated with ASD (adjusted hazard ratio 2·79, 95% CI 1·40–5·57, P<0·01). Several other factors including school absence, exclusion from school and having been in foster care were also associated with a higher risk of self-harm.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that ASD in boys, and other educational, social and clinical factors, are risk factors for emergency presentation with self-harm in adolescents. These findings are an important step in developing early recognition and prevention programmes.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Autism spectrum disorders as a risk factor for adolescent self-harm: a retrospective cohort study of 113,286 young people in the UK
Authors
Emily Widnall
Sophie Epstein
Catherine Polling
Sumithra Velupillai
Amelia Jewell
Rina Dutta
Emily Simonoff
Robert Stewart
Ruth Gilbert
Tamsin Ford
Matthew Hotopf
Richard D. Hayes
Johnny Downs
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02329-w

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