Self-injurious behavior and related mortality in children under 10 years of age: a retrospective health record study in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To describe and analyze data on self-injurious behavior (SIB) and related mortality in children under 10 years old in Brazil.

METHODS

A descriptive study was performed using secondary public health care data extracted from the Hospital Information System (Sistema de Informações Hospitalares, SIH) and Mortality Information System (Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade, SIM) in Brazil. The databases are available for online access at http://datasus.saude.gov.br/.

RESULTS

In Brazil, according to SIH data, 11,312 hospitalizations of patients under 10 years of age were recorded from 1998 to 2018 as resulting from SIB (ICD-10 X60-X84 codes). Of these, 65 resulted in death. According to the SIM, from 1996 to 2016, 91 deaths related to SIB were recorded, 81 (89%) in children aged 5 to 9 years, nine (9.9%) in children aged 1 to 4 years, and one (1.1%) in a child below 1 year of age.

CONCLUSION

These results highlight the relevance of creating measures to better understand SIB and related mortality in this age group. They also reveal the vulnerability of children in Brazil and warrant further studies to address these issues.

Suicide attempts in bipolar I patients: impact of comorbid personality disorders

Objective

To evaluate the association between personality disorders (PDs) and suicide attempts (SAs) in euthymic patients with type I bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods

One-hundred twenty patients with type I BD, with and without history of SA, were evaluated during euthymia. The assessment included a clinical and sociodemographic questionnaire, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Young Mania Rating Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and II Disorders. Logistic regression was employed to determine associations between history of SA and patient characteristics.

Results

History of SA was significantly associated with comorbid axis I disorder, rapid cycling, high impulsivity (attentional, motor, non-planning, and total), having any PD, and cluster B and C PDs. Only cluster B PDs, high attentional impulsivity, and lack of paid occupation remained significant after multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Cluster B PDs were significantly associated with SA in patients with type I BD. High attentional impulsivity and lack of gainful employment were also associated with SA, which suggests that some cluster B clinical and social characteristics may exacerbate suicidal behavior in this population. This finding offers alternatives for new therapeutic interventions.

The impact of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder on bipolar disorder patients

BACKGROUND

Available data regarding posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in bipolar disorder (BD) are scarce and usually from a limited sample size. The present report was carried out using the Brazilian Research Consortium for Bipolar Disorders and aimed to examine whether patients with BD and comorbid PTSD are at an increased risk for worse clinical outcomes.

METHODS

A consecutive sample of bipolar I outpatients from two teaching hospitals in Brazil was recruited. Patients were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Young Mania Rating Scale, 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and quality of life instrument WHOQOL-BREF. Participants were divided into three groups: a. bipolar patients with PTSD, b. bipolar patients exposed to trauma without PTSD, and c. bipolar patients with no trauma exposure.

RESULTS

Of the 405 patients who consented to participate, 87.7% completed the survey. All three groups were similar in terms of demographic parameters. The group with comorbid PTSD reported worse quality of life, more rapid cycling, higher rates of suicide attempts, and a lower likelihood of staying recovered.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design excludes the opportunity to examine causal relationships among trauma, PTSD, and BD.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that PTSD causes bipolar patients to have a worse outcome, as assessed by their lower likelihood to recover, elevated proportion of rapid cycling periods, increased risk of suicide attempts, and worse quality of life.