Does Lent affect rates of deliberate self-harm?

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that religious affiliation has a protective effect against deliberate self-harm. This is particularly pronounced in periods of increased religious significance, such as periods of worship, celebration, and fasting. However, no data exist as to whether this effect is present during the Christian period of Lent. Our hypothesis was that Lent would lead to decreased presentations of self-harm emergency department (ED) in a predominantly Catholic area of Ireland.

METHODS

Following ethical approval, we retrospectively analysed data on presentations to the ED of University Hospital Limerick during the period of Lent and the 40 days immediately preceding it. Frequency data were compared using Pearson's chi-squared tests in SPSS.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the overall number of people presenting to the ED with self-harm during Lent compared to the 40 days preceding it (χ2 = 0.75, df = 1, p > 0.05), and there was no difference in methods of self-harm used. However, there was a significant increase in attendances with self-harm during Lent in the over 50's age group (χ2 = 7.76, df = 1, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our study, Lent is not a protective factor for deliberate self-harm and was associated with increased presentations in the over 50's age group. Further large-scale studies are warranted to investigate this finding as it has implications for prevention and management of deliberate self-harm.

The association of religiosity with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in the United Kingdom

OBJECTIVE

The goal was to analyze the association of religiosity with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a UK nationally representative sample.

METHODS

This study used cross-sectional data from 7403 people who participated in the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS). Religion was assessed with the question 'Do you have a specific religion?' with 'yes' and 'no' answer options. Lifetime and past 12-month suicidal ideation and suicide attempts were assessed. The association between religiosity and suicidality was studied in multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioural, and psychopathological factors.

RESULTS

Compared to those without a religion, the prevalence of past 12-month suicidal ideation (3.2% vs. 5.4%), past 12-month suicide attempts (0.4% vs. 0.9%), lifetime suicidal ideation (11.2% vs. 16.4%), and lifetime suicide attempts (3.6% vs. 6.0%) was lower among those with a religion. In the fully adjusted model, having a religion was significantly associated with lower odds for all types of suicidality except past 12-month suicide attempts: suicidal ideation (past 12-month: OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.51-0.99; lifetime: OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.69-0.99) and suicide attempts (past 12-month: OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.35-1.45; lifetime: OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.53-0.90).

CONCLUSION

There is a negative association between religiosity and suicidality in the UK. Future studies should focus on the underlying mechanisms.

Religion and Completed Suicide: a Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Suicide is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death around the world. How religion influences the risk of completed suicide in different settings across the world requires clarification in order to best inform suicide prevention strategies.

METHODS

A meta-analysis using search results from Pubmed and Web of Science databases was conducted following PRISMA protocol and using the keywords "religion" or "religious" or "religiosity" or "spiritual" or "spirituality" plus "suicide" or "suicidality" or "suicide attempt". Random and fixed effects models were used to generate pooled ORs and I2 values. Sub-analyses were conducted among the following categories: young age (<45 yo), older age (≥45 yo), western culture, eastern culture, and religious homogeneity.

RESULTS

Nine studies that altogether evaluated 2339 suicide cases and 5252 comparison participants met all selection criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis suggested an overall protective effect of religiosity from completed suicide with a pooled OR of 0.38 (95% CI: 0.21-0.71) and I2 of 91%. Sub-analyses similarly revealed significant protective effects for studies performed in western cultures (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.18-0.46), areas with religious homogeneity (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.13-0.26), and among older populations (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.84). High heterogeneity of our meta-analysis was attributed to three studies in which the methods varied from the other six.

CONCLUSION

Religion plays a protective role against suicide in a majority of settings where suicide research is conducted. However, this effect varies based on the cultural and religious context. Therefore, public health professionals need to strongly consider the current social and religious atmosphere of a given population when designing suicide prevention strategies.