Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37069827›Full record

ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2023

Emergency department presentations with suicide and self-harm ideation: a missed opportunity for intervention?

E Ross, S Murphy, D O'Hagan, A Maguire, D O'Reilly

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.1field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Experiences and Perceptions of Self-Harm in Rural-Dwelling Adults: A Rapid Review of Qualitative Evidence.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

E RossCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0541-8647
S MurphyCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9765-3873
D O'HaganService Development, Screening and Health Improvement, Public Health Agency, Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
A MaguireCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
D O'ReillyCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsSuicidal ideation constitutes a central element of most theories of suicide and is the defining facet separating suicide from other causes of death such as accidents. However, despite a high worldwide prevalence, most research has focused on suicidal behaviours, such as completed suicide and suicide attempts, while the greater proportion who experienced ideation, which frequently precedes suicidal behaviour, have received much less attention. This study aims to examine the characteristics of those presenting to EDs with suicidal ideation and quantify the associated risk of suicide and other causes of death.

methodsRetrospective cohort study was performed based on population-wide health administration data linked to data from the Northern Ireland Registry of Self-Harm and centrally held mortality records from April 2012 to December 2019. Mortality data, coded as suicide, all-external causes and all-cause mortality were analysed using Cox proportional hazards. Additional cause-specific analyses included accidental deaths, deaths from natural causes and drug and alcohol-related causes.

resultsThere were 1,662,118 individuals aged over 10 years, of whom 15,267 presented to the ED with ideation during the study period. Individuals with ideation had a 10-fold increased risk of death from suicide (hazard ratio [HR

conclusionsIdentifying people with suicidal ideation is recognized to be both important but difficult in practice; this study shows that presentations to EDs with self-harm or suicide ideation represent an important potential intervention point for this hard-to-reach vulnerable population. However, and unlike individuals presenting with self-harm, clinical guidelines for the management and recommended best practice and care of these individuals are lacking. Whilst suicide prevention may be the primary focus of interventions aimed at those experiencing self-harm and suicide ideation, death from other preventable causes, especially substance misuse, should also be a cause of concern.

Indexed as

Self-Injurious BehaviorAgedEmergency Service, HospitalHumansRetrospective StudiesSuicidal IdeationSuicide, Attemptedalcohol abuseepidemiologymental healthsuicidesuicide ideation

Identifiers

PMID37069827
PMCPMC10130835
OpenAlexW4366241701

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.