Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39810705›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2025

Self-harm in women in midlife: rates, precipitating problems and outcomes following hospital presentations in the multicentre study of self-harm in England.

Caroline Clements, Harriet Bickley, Keith Hawton, Galit Geulayov, Keith Waters, Jennifer Ness, Samantha Kelly, Ellen Townsend, Louis Appleby, Nav Kapur

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Menopause and suicide: A systematic review.Women's health (London, England)
    Pooled it
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

10 authors.

Caroline ClementsCentre for Mental Health and Safety, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4735-6728
Harriet BickleyCentre for Mental Health and Safety, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Keith HawtonCentre for Suicide Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Galit GeulayovCentre for Suicide Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4093-5156
Keith WatersCentre for Self-harm and Suicide Prevention Research, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK.
Jennifer NessCentre for Self-harm and Suicide Prevention Research, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK.
Samantha KellyCentre for Self-harm and Suicide Prevention Research, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK.
Ellen TownsendSchool of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Louis ApplebyCentre for Mental Health and Safety, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Nav KapurCentre for Mental Health and Safety, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3100-3234

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSuicide in women in the UK is highest among those in midlife. Given the unique changes in biological, social and economic risk factors experienced by women in midlife, more information is needed to inform care.

aimTo investigate rates, characteristics and outcomes of self-harm in women in midlife compared to younger women and identify differences within the midlife age-group.

methodData on women aged 40-59 years from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England from 2003 to 2016 were used, including mortality follow-up to 2019, collected via specialist assessments and/or emergency department records. Trends were assessed using negative binomial regression models. Comparative analysis used chi-square tests of association. Self-harm repetition and suicide mortality analyses used Cox proportional hazards models.

resultsThe self-harm rate in midlife women was 435 per 100 000 population and relatively stable over time (incident rate ratio (IRR) 0.99,

conclusionAddressing issues relating to finances, mental health and alcohol misuse, alongside known social and biological transitions, may help reduce self-harm in women in midlife. Alcohol use was important across midlife while physical health problems and bereavement increased with age. Despite receiving more intensive follow-up care, suicide risk in the oldest women was elevated. Awareness of these vulnerabilities may help inform clinicians' risk formulation and safety planning.

Indexed as

HospitalizationSelf-Injurious BehaviorSuicideAdultAge FactorsEnglandFemaleHumansMiddle AgedRisk FactorsepidemiologymidlifeSelf-harmsuicidewomen's health

Identifiers

PMID39810705
PMCPMC12278048

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.